Justice
by cleotheo
Summary: The morning after getting married Hermione wakes up next to the dead body of her husband. Realising all the evidence points to her, Hermione flees and runs to the one person she knows will help her, Draco Malfoy. Along with Draco's friends, the pair try to discover what happened and who is trying to frame her for murder.
1. Prologue

**A/N – Welcome to my new story, Justice. It has 21 chapters (including the prologue and epilogue). Updates will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, to fit around The Dark Lady. **

**A word of warning for Ron lovers – this story probably won't be to your liking. **

**This first chapter is the prologue, which is slightly shorter than my normal length chapters and just sets the scene. The next chapter flicks back six months, where the story begins to explain how Hermione got to this point. The story then carries on up until the point of the prologue, and beyond. I won't be repeating the prologue in the story, but I will mention where it would occur (Even though it's very obvious where it fits into the story).**

**Enjoy!**

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**Prologue.**

Hermione Granger slowly opened her eyes before quickly shutting them again as the light in the room hurt. In fact all of Hermione's head hurt, she had a pounding headache and it hurt to even think. Unfortunately Hermione couldn't not think as she pondered how she had ended up in such a state. Just thinking of the previous day made her feel ill, but that didn't explain her thumping head.

The previous day Hermione had gotten married and just thinking about it made her skin crawl. Without a doubt she'd just experienced the worst day of her life as she'd married Ron Weasley. Hermione's marriage wasn't one of love, in fact over the last few months she had come to hate her once best friend.

Hermione still wasn't keen on facing her future as Mrs Weasley, but she knew she had to. Gingerly she opened her eyes and slowly sat up in bed. Hermione took a couple of minutes to get used to the throbbing in her head, before pushing back the covers on the bed. As she pushed back the covers Hermione noticed two things, first of all she was wearing a skimpy negligée she didn't recognise and secondly there were streaks of reddish brown stains on her arms and hands. Lifting her hands to examine them Hermione recognised the stains as blood. Totally confused she looked around the room and screamed at what she saw.

Scrambling out of bed Hermione looked back in horror at the mess she had been sleeping beside. Ron lay on the other side of the bed, dead. His face had been beaten so badly he was only recognisable from his red hair. Hermione began to sob quietly as she took in the sight of the blood soaked bed and the lifeless body of her dead husband.

Hermione's eyes dropped to the bedside table where she spotted her wand, complete with bloody fingerprints. Hesitantly picking up the piece of wood she pointed it towards a plant in the corner and cast the spell that produced the last spell cast from the wand. Despite expecting the green light of the killing curse to emerge from her wand, Hermione still flinched and dropped her wand when the plant in the corner withered and died when the beam from her wand hit it.

Now she knew the killing curse had been cast with her wand, Hermione began to panic. A further look round the room revealed a beater's bat in the corner of the room, covered in blood. Hermione suspected the bat had been the weapon with which Ron had beaten and she was in no doubt that her fingerprints would be all over it.

Standing in the middle of the honeymoon suite Hermione took stock of her situation. Ron was dead and she would be the prime suspect. The only thing was she didn't know was if she had killed him or not. It didn't matter how hard she tried she couldn't remember anything of the previous night, the whole thing was a blank. As much as Hermione wanted to believe she didn't kill Ron she just couldn't be sure she didn't, and if she wasn't sure how would she convince anyone else of her innocence.

Hermione was also very aware that the events of the previous afternoon would do little to help her cause. While she couldn't remember the previous night, she could remember earlier that day, and more importantly she remembered the huge fight she'd had with Ron during their wedding reception. Hermione knew plenty of people had witnessed the argument where she had slapped him and told him she wished he was dead.

Reaching down and picking up her wand, Hermione made her way to the bathroom in a daze. Filling the sink with water she dropped her wand into it, before taking a good look at herself in the mirror. She had streaks of Ron's blood on her face, in her hair and down her neck and the top of her chest. Turning away from the sight of herself looking all bloody she stripped off and stepped into the shower. Once under the warm water of the shower she scrubbed herself clean, watching mesmerised as the water turned pink as she washed the dried blood off her body. Hermione stayed in the shower far longer than necessary, making sure there wasn't a trace of blood on her.

Eventually emerging from the shower she wrapped herself in a large towel before picking her wand up from the sink and drying it. Clutching it tightly in her hand Hermione crept back into the bedroom, feeling a wave of nausea as she spotted Ron's body. Turning away from the bed, she grabbed her overnight bag and began hurriedly packing her belongings.

She knew that she had to get away, at least until she discovered the truth about what had happened the previous night. Hermione knew she should alert the Aurors, but she also knew if she did she would be arrested straight away and if that happened she might never find out the truth. If she was arrested she knew the evidence against her was strong and a little bit of digging would prove she definitely had a motive for wanting Ron dead.

Once her bag was packed Hermione hurriedly dressed in jeans and a jumper and tied her hair back. Taking once final glance at Ron, Hermione was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Despite her current feelings towards the redhead he had once been her best friend and as such she vowed to find out the truth about what had happened here. If she remembered killing Ron she would hand herself in, but her gut was telling her she'd been set up. Whoever had done this wanted her to take the blame, and she wasn't prepared to let that happen.

Turning towards the door, Hermione cautiously peered into the corridor. Finding it empty she quietly left the suite and headed for the back stairs. Racing down the stairs she kept an eye out for anyone, but luckily she made it to the ground floor unnoticed. From the ground floor, Hermione slipped out of the emergency exit onto the grounds of the vast hotel they had hired for the wedding.

The hotel was a secluded one on the south coast of England. Ron had picked it for the wedding and all of the guests were spending the weekend at the hotel. Hermione and Ron had been due to spend the remainder of the weekend at the hotel with their friends and families, before going on honeymoon. Like the rest of the wedding Ron had taken charge of the honeymoon and he'd organised for them to take a trip to Australia, where the Quidditch World Cup was being held.

Looking around at her surroundings Hermione cursed quietly. There was no way to leave without risking being seen. Hermione didn't want to be seen, as that would lead to questions and Ron being found. As it was she knew if she could get away undetected she would have a good head start, no-one would expect to see her and Ron for a while so no-one should notice anything was amiss too soon.

Pulling her wand out Hermione decided she'd have to apparate. She knew the Auror's could trace her apparition path, but it was the only way to get away from the hotel without being seen. Hopefully by the time the Auror's were involved she would be safely out of the country. Double checking no-one was around, Hermione waved her wand and disappeared with a crack.

When Hermione reappeared she was in her flat in London. Running into her bedroom she grabbed her passport from the bedside table and shoved a few more things into her bag. Travelling the muggle way was slower than she would have liked, but international travel in the wizarding world was closely monitored and the Aurors would be able to track her in no time. At least travelling the muggle way it would take them longer to find her, and hopefully by then she'd be with the one person she knew would help her.

Before leaving Hermione headed into her study and turned on her laptop. A brief search showed her where the earliest flight to the south of France flew from. Writing down the details on a scrap of paper Hermione shoved it in her bag, before shutting down her laptop and throwing that in the bag as well. She wasn't going to risk leaving it behind where someone might be able to work it and find what she had just looked at.

Double checking she had everything, Hermione left her flat and hurried into the nearest town, which luckily for her happened to be a muggle town. Once in town Hermione slipped into an alleyway and apparated away again. This time she knew the Auror's would have to search much harder to find where she had apparated from and trace her.

When she reappeared this time Hermione was in Manchester, not far from the airport. Entering the airport Hermione bought a ticket to the flight she had found online and checked in. Luckily the flight was due to leave in just over an hour, giving Hermione less time to panic about been caught.

Hermione didn't relax until she was in her seat and the plane had taken off. Once she was in the air she let herself think about where she was going. She knew the person she was running to would help her discover the truth about what had happened to Ron. She also knew he would protect her at all costs and even if the worst should happen and she remembered killing Ron, he would still support her and love her.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N - Sorry about the lack of update yesterday, but when I put the computer on to post the new chapter I couldn't get on the fanfiction site and that went on for over two hours until I eventually gave up and went to bed. **

**Thanks for all the reviews/faves/follows, I appreciate them all. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and I hope it answers a few people's questions about why Hermione married Ron.**

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**Chapter One.**

**Six Months Earlier****.**

Hermione awoke to the pleasant sensation of lips trailing over her bare skin. Opening her eyes, she smiled softly at the sight of her boyfriend trailing kisses down her stomach. Tangling her fingers in the soft blond strands of his hair, Hermione moaned quietly as he moved further south. At the sound of her moaning and the feel of her hands gripping his hair, her boyfriend looked up and Hermione found herself staring into the sparkling grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"You're awake." He said. "I was just about to wake you up in a more fun way."

"Don't let me stop you." Hermione grinned. "I may be awake, but I'll still appreciate the fun thing you're about to do."

Draco grinned back at Hermione, before returning to his previous actions. As usual Draco's oral skills soon had Hermione moaning and writhing around in ecstasy, with her orgasm arriving not long after. Their morning activities quickly led to full blown sex, which left both Hermione and Draco sated but tired. Collapsing back onto the bed, the couple settled in each other's arms as they made the most of their time together.

The relationship between Draco and Hermione was a partial secret, although they were getting ready to tell everyone now they were sure they were going to last. No-one close to Hermione knew about the relationship, whereas a couple of Draco's closest friends knew they were together. They both knew that some of the people closest to them wouldn't approve, but they loved each other and were getting sick of hiding. All the couple wanted to do was forget the past and make a fresh start together, they just hoped Hermione's friends and Draco's family would be on board and not turn against them.

"I have to be going." Draco sighed, looking at the clock on the bedside table. "Mother will be expecting me in an hour, and I need to shower and change first."

"I guess I should be getting on with some work." Hermione said, making no move to leave the comfort of Draco's arms. "I've brought a pile home to do over the weekend, and I haven't touched it so far."

"It's only Saturday." Draco pointed out. "The weekend's barely begun."

"Yeah, but today is my only real opportunity to do some. Tomorrow I'm due at The Burrow for lunch, and tonight I'm coming to yours. Unless of course you don't want to see me."

"After what I'm going to do today, I'll really need to see you." Draco said, placing a soft kiss to the top of Hermione's head. "I hate having to go to that place and see Mother getting herself so upset."

"I know." Hermione whispered, snuggling closer to Draco.

Draco was accompanying his mother to Azkaban, where they would visit his father, Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was serving a life sentence for his part in the war and Hermione knew that every visit reminded Draco of how easily he could have ended up joining his father in prison. After the war Draco had endured a trial like the rest of the Death Eaters, but his lawyers had fought hard for him and convinced the court he was just a scared boy, trying to protect his family. Instead of going to Azkaban, Draco was given community service and a ten year good behaviour bond. The bond meant that even a small infringement of any law resulted in the blond going to Azkaban, but that wasn't really an issue as Draco had changed and would never do anything to jeopardise his freedom.

After lying in bed for another ten minutes, Draco and Hermione finally had to get up. Hermione pulled on some jeans and a top, while Draco redressed in the clothes he had been wearing the previous night. Wandering into the front room of Hermione's flat the couple stopped beside the fire, where Hermione unlocked the floo network.

"I'll see you tonight." Draco said, leaning down and giving Hermione a deep kiss.

"I'm looking forward to it." Hermione smiled, as Draco prepared to leave.

After Draco had left Hermione made herself a cup of coffee and some toast before heading to her study, where she settled down to work for a few hours. Hermione worked in the Department of International Co-Operation at the Ministry of Magic and her job involved a lot of paperwork. On a brighter side her job also involved a lot of travelling, which was how she ended up getting involved with Draco.

Hermione had been working in Italy when she had re-met her former classmate, Blaise Zabini. Blaise owned the company the Ministry was trying to set up a deal with and he agreed to talk to Hermione if she had dinner with him. As it turned out dinner was a group affair, which just so happened to include Blaise's best friend, Draco. Blaise had seated the pair next to each other and Hermione was surprised to find she hit it off with the blond Slytherin.

After getting along so well Draco had asked to see her again and things had progressed from there. Initially they had kept their relationship quiet because they knew her friends and his family wouldn't approve and they didn't think it was worth causing trouble unless they were serious about one another. Now they knew they were serious and for the last few weeks they had been discussing telling people about their relationship.

Hermione worked solidly for a couple of hours, before a knock on the front door disturbed her. Packing her work away, Hermione left the study and headed to answer the door. She wasn't expecting anyone but when she opened the door and found Ron standing there she was pretty surprised. Her two best friends, Harry and Ron, often popped round unexpectedly to see her as they were all so busy they didn't have a great deal of time to socialise. However, Ron's appearance was surprising considering Hermione was due to have lunch at his family's home the following day.

"Ron, I didn't expect to see you today." Hermione said, stepping aside and letting her friend enter the flat. "You do know I'm coming to The Burrow tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yes, I know." Ron nodded. "But I want to talk to you in private."

"Okay, come in." Hermione said, leading the way into the front room. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No." Ron replied, settling himself on the sofa. "Sit down, Hermione."

"This is sounding serious." Hermione said, sitting down on the chair opposite her friend.

"It is." Ron replied. "I'm here to discuss your relationship with Draco Malfoy."

Hermione gasped and looked at Ron in surprise. "How do you know?"

"That doesn't matter, the important thing is that I know." Ron replied.

"I was going to tell you." Hermione said, feeling guilty that she had been caught out rather than being upfront with her friends. "In fact I was going to tell everyone soon."

"You won't be telling anyone anything about Malfoy." Ron stated. "He's going to be our little secret."

"But we're not planning on keeping quiet much longer." Hermione argued. "We're telling everyone, and moving in together."

"No, you're not." Ron shook his head. "You're going to do exactly as I say, unless you want him to go straight to Azkaban where he belongs."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione stared at Ron, not sure what was going on.

"It's simple really, you do what I say and lover boy doesn't go to prison. If you don't agree to my terms then I have some pretty compelling evidence that will send Malfoy down for a long time."

"This is making no sense, Ron." Hermione said, still not understanding what her friend was talking about. "Draco hasn't done anything wrong, you can't have evidence against him."

"Who's going to believe a former Death Eater over an Auror, especially an Auror who's best friends with Harry Potter and helped defeat Voldemort." Ron replied, grinning evilly. "At home I've got a file load of evidence that proves that Malfoy's been dealing in dark artefacts and several of his business dealings are fronts for dealing in dark magic."

"You're setting him up, why?" Hermione glared at Ron, hardly able to believe her best friend could stoop so low.

"He has something that belongs to me." Ron answered. "You."

"I've told you before Ron, I'm not interested. We tried a relationship before, it doesn't work." Hermione said, annoyed that Ron's former feelings seemed to have resurfaced.

Directly after the war Hermione and Ron had embarked on a short lived relationship. Almost immediately Hermione realised they simply weren't suited as a couple and after a few disastrous months, where all they did was fight, she ended the relationship. Ron had been bitter at the time but he'd come around and eventually they had returned to their previous friendship and she had assumed his feelings were long gone.

"It didn't work, because you didn't give us a chance." Ron retorted bitterly. "But this time we're getting our chance."

"There is no we." Hermione shouted, getting annoyed with Ron. "You and I are over, I'm with Draco. I love Draco, not you."

"I know you love him, that's why you'll agree to my deal." Ron smirked.

"What deal?"

"The deal that's going to keep Malfoy out of Azkaban." Ron replied. "You're going to marry me, or I'll produce all of my information and send Malfoy to prison."

"You can't be serious." Hermione murmured, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Deadly."

"It won't work, you can't frame Draco like that. He'll be able to prove you're lying."

Ron laughed at Hermione's arguments. "As I said before, who's going to believe him over me? He's on a good behaviour bond, one whiff of trouble and he goes straight to Azkaban. True he might be able to fight the charges, but it will take a long time. This isn't a spur of the moment decision Hermione, I've been gathering information for months."

"You bastard." Hermione spat, recognising that Ron was serious and everything he was saying was true. Fake evidence or not, just the mention of dark magic would be enough to send Draco to Azkaban and with his track record no-one would give him a chance to prove he was being set-up.

"So do we have a deal?" Ron asked, ignoring Hermione's slur.

"No, we do not have a deal." Hermione snarled. "I want you to leave and never return."

"I'll give you a week." Ron said as he stood up. "You've got until this time next week to come and accept my offer. Either you agree to marry me, or Malfoy ends up in Azkaban. It's your choice. And just so you know, if either of you try and run I hand over the information."

"Get out." Hermione repeated, glaring at Ron and for the first time in her life hating the sight of the red-haired git.

"See you tomorrow, Hermione." Ron grinned at Hermione as though nothing was wrong before turning and leaving the flat.

Hermione remained frozen in her seat, wondering if she had just imagined the whole thing. It was hard to believe her best friend had just sat in her front room and openly blackmailed her. Unfortunately for Hermione the entire thing had just happened and she knew Ron well enough to know he wasn't bluffing. If she wanted to save Draco from going to Azkaban, she would have to marry Ron.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

Draco wandered around his penthouse, making sure everything was sorted for Hermione coming over. Visiting his father in Azkaban always left him feeling anxious and unable to relax. Normally he didn't start to feel better until he saw Hermione and held her in his arms.

After making sure the place was spotless, Draco eventually settled down in the front room. Picking up his book he read a few pages before throwing it back onto the coffee table. Draco just couldn't concentrate on what he was reading so instead he sat back on the sofa, closed his eyes and thought about Hermione and the fact they would soon be together properly.

Draco knew they would likely face opposition to their relationship, but he also knew they were strong enough to prevail. The main opposition from Draco's side would come from his father, but being stuck in Azkaban meant there was little Lucius could do about it. Draco's mother, Narcissa, was initially likely to back his father but Draco was hoping he could convince his mother that he was doing the right thing. If he could get Narcissa on side Draco was hoping his father would come round and accept Hermione, Lucius may not be a big part of his daily life but he still loved him and didn't want to lose what little contact they did have.

While Draco was hopeful his family would eventually come round he wasn't as sure about Hermione's friends. After the war a lot of people felt he escaped lightly, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley weren't afraid to tell people that was their opinion. Over the last few years Harry had softened his stance and on the rare occasion Draco came into contact with him they could at least be civil to one another. On the other hand Ron obviously still harboured a grudge and a few times had made it clear he thought Draco belonged in Azkaban.

Draco's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the floo network activating. Getting up he smiled widely when Hermione stepped from the flames and paused briefly to brush soot off her dress.

"Hi." Hermione smiled when she spotted Draco and rushed straight over to embrace him.

Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione, wondering what was bothering her as she nestled into him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hermione nodded, not moving from Draco's arms. Obviously she was going to tell him about Ron's threat, but first she needed to spend some time with him.

"Are you hungry?" Draco asked, knowing it was pointless to push Hermione and that she would talk about what was bothering her when she was ready. "I stopped at the Italian around the corner and grabbed some takeout."

"That sounds great." Hermione said, finally stepping out of Draco's arms.

"Come on then, let's go eat." Draco said, leading the way into the kitchen.

Together they sorted dinner and settled down to eat with a nice bottle of wine. Conversation over dinner surrounded Draco's visit to see Lucius and general chit-chat. Draco was very aware that Hermione never once brought up the topic of them going public with their relationship and the one time he mentioned it she changed the subject. By the end of the meal he had convinced himself that she had changed her mind about them being together and that was why she was in such a strange mood.

"I can't take this anymore." Draco announced as they settled back into the front room after dinner.

"Take what?" Hermione asked.

"This torture, if you're going to end it then just do it. Don't prolong the agony."

Hermione looked at Draco in confusion. "Why would I end it?"

"You've been in a strange mood since you arrived and you never once mentioned our relationship over dinner." Draco replied. "I assumed you were having second thoughts about telling people."

"I want to tell people more than anything." Hermione said sadly.

"Why do I sense there's a massive but coming?" Draco asked, noticing how sad Hermione looked.

"Because there is." Hermione sighed. "Ron came to see me this afternoon and it wasn't good."

"I don't imagine a visit from Weasley is ever good." Draco muttered, letting his dislike of the redhead shine through. Normally he managed to keep his opinion of Hermione's friend to himself, but for some reason he couldn't help himself today.

"This was bad, Draco." Hermione said. "He knows about us and he threatened us."

"The bastard, I'll kill him." Draco snarled, jumping up from the sofa.

"Draco, don't." Hermione pulled her boyfriend back onto the sofa before he had a chance to storm off and confront Ron. "Confronting him will only make things worse, if it's even possible for things to get worse that is."

"What exactly did Weasley say?" Draco asked, sensing there was more to this than what Hermione was telling him.

"Apparently he's got a pile of fake evidence against you, accusing you of dealing in dark magic and artefacts. If I don't do what he wants then he's going to use it to send you to Azkaban." Hermione explained.

"I bet he would as well." Draco muttered. "He's made no secret of the fact he thinks that's where I belong. And it's not as if it hasn't been done before."

"What do you mean, it's been done before?" Hermione asked.

"Can you remember a few of years ago when Theo Nott was sent down for trafficking dark artefacts?" Draco asked.

"Vaguely." Hermione said. Theo was a friend of Draco's and he'd been released from Azkaban just before she got together with Draco a little over two years ago, but she couldn't really remember much about the actual case.

"Theo was innocent and he spent a year in Azkaban. It was retaliation from the Aurors when Theo's father won his appeal and was granted early release." Draco explained. Theo's father had been a Death Eater like Lucius and he'd also been sent to Azkaban after the war.

"I remember that." Hermione said. "Nott claimed that the arresting Aurors had coerced him into confessing to crimes he didn't commit. I can remember Harry and Ron were furious when he won his appeal and was released, they said it undermined the entire department."

"They weren't the only ones to feel that way. A couple of the other Aurors decided to take revenge, they knew they couldn't get to Nott Senior so they targeted Theo." Draco said. "Obviously with who Theo was he was sent straight to Azkaban and he lost a year of his life."

"How do you know Theo was framed by Aurors?" Hermione questioned. She didn't doubt Theo's innocence as she'd met him and believed he wanted nothing to do with the darker side of magic.

"One of them visited him in Azkaban to taunt him." Draco answered. "Of course no-one would believe him. Who's going to believe the son of a convicted Death Eater over an Auror?"

"That's what Ron kept saying about you." Hermione whispered, wondering if Ron was involved or knew about Theo been set up. "When I said you could fight the claims and prove they were false, he kept saying no-one would believe you over him."

"I hate to admit it, but Weasley's right." Draco admitted with a disgusted look. "I'm a former Death Eater and most people will rush to condemn me. I don't stand a chance if Weasley decides to set me up."

"I know." Hermione said quietly, having already came to the same conclusion a few hours earlier. "That's why I need to do what he wants."

"What exactly does he want?" Draco questioned.

"He wants me to marry him."

"No!" Draco protested with a shout. "That is not an option."

"It's our only option." Hermione said. "Believe me, I hate it as much as you but there's no other way. If I don't marry him, he's going to send you to Azkaban and I can't let that happen."

"There has to be another way." Draco said stubbornly. "I am not losing you to Weasley."

"You'll never lose me, Draco." Hermione said softly, taking hold of Draco's hand. "I will always be yours, even if I'm married to Ron."

"That's not happening." Draco insisted. "I won't let you do this for me. I might get a life sentence in Azkaban, but we'll both get a far worse one of you marry Weasley."

"At least this way we can still see each other." Hermione argued. "If you're in Azkaban, that's it, we're done. This way we can still be together, even if it is just once in a while."

Draco paused for a few minutes before shaking his head yet again. "There has to be another way. I know, we can leave. We run before Weasley works out what's going on."

"If we run, he releases the evidence against you." Hermione said despondently. "We'll be hunted down and things will be ten times worse."

"They might not find us." Draco said hopefully, even though deep down he knew they would be found. Since the war the Auror's had tracked down dozens of Death Eaters, including some who'd been in hiding since the first war.

"They will." Hermione stated. "Running isn't an option."

"Neither is you marrying Weasley." Draco repeated in despair. "I can't live with that, Hermione. I'd rather go to Azkaban."

"Don't say that." Hermione cried, moving closer to Draco. "I can't let you go to Azkaban, it'll destroy you. You've seen what that place does to people, I couldn't live with myself if I condemned you to that fate."

"And I couldn't live with myself if I condemned you to marry Weasley." Draco replied. "You should be marrying me, not him."

"It might not be forever." Hermione said. "What if I went along with his option and married him. I could then look for the information he has on you and destroy it. I could also gather evidence on him and expose him for the corrupt, blackmailing bastard he is."

"Do you think that would work?" Draco asked. He didn't want Hermione anywhere near Ron, but it was looking like her marrying him was their only option.

"It's worth a try." Hermione shrugged. "It's better than refusing his offer and having him come after you. At least this way we still have a chance to be together."

"How long do we have to make the decision?" Draco asked, hoping Weasley didn't want a quick answer to his ultimatum.

"A week, he wants his answer next Saturday afternoon." Hermione answered.

"Okay, then we have a week to either find a new way out of this or to work on a plan to bring him down." Draco said. "Whatever happens, I promise you won't be married to that arsehole any longer than is absolutely necessary."

"Good." Hermione smiled. "Because I think I've just had a proposal from someone much better and I want to take advantage of it."

"You would really marry me?" Draco asked in surprise.

"In a heartbeat." Hermione replied. "I just hope I get the chance."

"You will." Draco said. "I promise we'll find a way to be together."

Hermione nodded before leaning forward and connecting her lips with Draco's. "I hope so." She whispered as they separated for air.

"I know so." Draco declared, before reconnecting their lips and ending their conversation for the night.


	4. Chapter 3

**I have decided to try and do a weekend update for this story. However, I don't always have a lot of time on a weekend so I can't guarantee one every week. I do however promise to try my best to deliver a chapter over the weekend. **

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**Chapter Three.**

Ron sat alone in his flat, waiting for Hermione to appear and accept his offer. It was exactly a week since he had spoken to Hermione, but he was confident she would agree to his terms. While Hermione may not want to marry him she would if it kept Malfoy out of Azkaban and in time she would hopefully understand why he had to take such drastic measures to get her away from the former Slytherin.

As the afternoon wore on Ron's confidence in Hermione showing up began to dwindle. Maybe he'd underestimated her feelings for Malfoy, maybe she didn't love him enough to save him from a life in Azkaban. But even if she didn't show up and agree to his terms, he still had the fake evidence that would ensure the blond was out of her life for good.

Not long ago Ron knew nothing of Hermione's relationship with Malfoy, but eight months ago an investigation in dark artefacts being sold in Diagon Alley had led him to find out the truth about his friend. Ron's investigation led him to discover that Silver Accessories, a jewellery shop in Diagon Alley owned and ran by Pansy Parkinson, was a front for dark artefacts being sold. When he'd shown up to arrest Pansy, she had offered him a deal, in exchange for her freedom she would help him bring down Malfoy and ensure he spent the rest of his life in prison. Ron hadn't believed Pansy at first, until she revealed his relationship with Hermione and admitted she would rather see him in Azkaban than be with Hermione.

Ron had given Pansy a brief reprise, while they discussed matters. After talking things through with Pansy, Ron destroyed the evidence against her in exchange for help setting Malfoy up. For the last eight months the pair had plotted and schemed against Malfoy, with the plan being for Ron to send him to Azkaban before swooping in on Hermione.

However as the evidence against the blond mounted and the time for setting him up drew closer, Ron began to rethink their plans. Hermione had already made it clear she wasn't interested in him romantically, so chances were even after Malfoy was out of her life she wouldn't see him as anything other than a friend. That was when Ron had hit on the plan to force Hermione to marry him, that way he would finally get what he always wanted. Once they were married Ron still planned on sending Malfoy to Azkaban, but by then he was hopeful Hermione would be happy enough with him and wouldn't care what happened to her ex.

Ron's plans looked to have failed however as the afternoon dragged on and there was still no sign of Hermione. Finally giving up Ron was just about to head off for a shower when there was a knock on the door. Smirking to himself he changed directions and headed to the front door, opening it to find Hermione standing on the other side.

"Hermione, how lovely to see you." Ron said, stepping aside to let the brunette witch past.

"Cut the theatrics Ron, we both know this isn't a social call." Hermione snapped, storming into the flat and heading into the front room.

"If it's not a social call, then what brings you here?" Ron asked, sauntering into the room and settling down on the sofa.

"I want to discuss conditions for your little deal." Hermione said.

"Of course." Ron nodded. "Please, sit down."

"I'm fine standing." Hermione replied. "I've just come to tell you I'll accept your offer. But the second we're married I want everything you have on Draco."

"So you can destroy it and walk out on me, I don't think so." Ron chuckled. "That evidence is my security, it's the only way I can guarantee you won't leave me."

"And if you have it, what's to stop you using it after we're married?" Hermione questioned.

"You'll just have to trust me." Ron smirked. He was planning on still using the information, but it looked like he would have to time it to perfection to ensure Hermione didn't leave him.

"I don't trust you though, not after this." Hermione snorted. "You're going to make an unbreakable vow not to use that information once we're married. I'm agreeing to this to stop you using it, not to delay you using it."

Ron frowned at Hermione, knowing she had just gotten one over on him. If he made the unbreakable vow he couldn't put Malfoy where he belonged, but if he didn't he wouldn't get Hermione. He would have to make a choice, getting Hermione as his wife or putting Malfoy in Azkaban. Ron thought about it for a few minutes, before agreeing to Hermione's terms. He could find another way of getting Malfoy sent down, but this was his only shot at getting Hermione.

"Who's going to witness the vow?" Ron asked, suddenly spotting a hole in Hermione's plan.

"Draco." Hermione responded. "He's waiting outside."

Ron snarled at the mention of his rival, but since he was getting what he wanted he kept his anger in check. "Go get him then and we can get this over with."

Hermione left the flat and returned a few seconds later with the blond Slytherin in tow. Ron and Draco glared menacingly at each other, but Hermione made sure no major arguments broke out. Quickly she instigated the vow and Ron promised never to use the evidence as long as Hermione remained married to him.

"You can go now." Ron snarled at Draco once the vow was complete.

"I think I'll wait for Hermione." Draco replied icily.

"Well you can wait outside, you're not welcome here and Hermione and I have a few more things to discuss." Ron said.

"Draco, it's fine." Hermione told her boyfriend. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Just shout if you need me." Draco said, giving Hermione a quick kiss before turning and leaving the room.

"What do you want to talk about Ron?" Hermione asked once Draco had left.

Ron turned his attention back to Hermione, he had been scowling at the retreating back of the blond man. "Tomorrow you're accompanying me to The Burrow and we're telling everyone. I want this to look genuine so act happy."

"Don't worry, I'll play the part of a perfect fiancée and wife in public. In private however it will be a different matter, you may be able to force me to marry you, but you'll never force me to love you." Hermione said.

"You'll change your mind once we're married." Ron shrugged, unconcerned by Hermione's coldness. When he was all she had she would change her mind about loving him.

"Don't count on it." Hermione snorted. "I will never love you Ron, and it doesn't matter what you do, I'll never be yours. I will always love Draco."

"But will he still love you, once you've been in my bed?" Ron asked. "Sure he might love you now, but how about when he's alone on a night imagining what we're getting up to in our bed."

"That won't take much imagination, because we'll be not be getting up to anything." Hermione retorted. "Sure you might be able to force your way into my bed, but that's all. If you think for one minute I'll be a willing participant then you're sadly mistaken. I will never sleep with you willingly, anything you do will be against my will."

Ron glared at Hermione angrily, seeing his perfect plan fall apart in front of his eyes. He could now see that Hermione would never love him, even if Malfoy was gone she wouldn't give herself to him willingly. Sure he could go ahead with the marriage, but he would never have her the way he really wanted.

"Meet me here tomorrow at noon, we'll go to The Burrow together." Ron finally said, not sure what he was going to do.

Hermione nodded and quickly left the flat. Once he was alone Ron sank back down on the sofa, he now had a decision to make. Did he change his mind and find a new way to destroy Malfoy, or did he carry on with this plan and at least get Hermione in some small way. Sure she might not want to be with him, but she would be and at least that was something.

* * *

After leaving Ron's flat, Hermione and Draco apparated back to Draco's penthouse. Once there they extracted her memories from her talk with Ron and secured them in a vial, before placing them alongside her memories from her first talk with Ron a week earlier. After much discussion the couple had decided to gather enough evidence against Ron, before he forced Hermione to marry him.

"Do you think that's enough?" Draco asked, looking at the two sets of memories. "We could go to the Auror's right now, with these memories."

"Let's check them first, I want to be sure he can't wriggle out of anything." Hermione replied.

Draco nodded as he began sorting his pensieve and tipping the memories in. Together Hermione and Draco entered the pensieve and re-looked at Hermione's two conversations with Ron. When they finished Draco restored the memories in their vials and placed them back in the safe where no-one but him could get to them.

"It's not enough, is it?" He sighed despondently.

"No, I reckon he could talk his way out of that." Hermione replied quietly. "He never once calls the evidence against you fake. I do, but he doesn't. He could argue the evidence is real and he was just taking advantage of the situation."

"The most we can get him for is blackmail." Draco said. "And chances are if he's questioned he'll hand over the evidence against me and I'll end up in Azkaban anyway."

"How solid do you think his evidence is?" Hermione questioned. "Do you think it would hold up under investigation?"

"He did say he'd been gathering it for months, so I'd wager it's pretty convincing." Draco replied. "Of course that doesn't really matter, because as he mentioned I'm on a good behaviour bond. Even the suspicion would be enough to send me to Azkaban and once I'm there you can bet no-one will rush to investigate my case properly."

"We'll have to keep on with this charade." Hermione said. "Hopefully Ron will incriminate himself before I have to actually marry him."

"What if he doesn't?" Draco questioned, looking worried. "I don't think we should risk it."

"What's the alternative?" Hermione shrugged. "He's got us backed into a corner."

"I still think we should talk more about running." Draco replied. "I know the Auror's have a good success rate for capturing criminals on the run, but I've got plenty of money to aid us."

"True, we could probably run fairly successfully, but we'd constantly be looking over our shoulders." Hermione said. "What sort of life is that? We could never really settle down and have a family or any sort of meaningful life."

"I know." Draco sighed, knowing that even if they managed to change their identities they would still have to be so careful and ready to run at the drop of a hat.

"I don't want to live a life on the run." Hermione told Draco. "I want to fight and bring Ron down. If I have to marry him then I will, but I swear I'm going to destroy him and you and I will finally get to be together."

"Let's not talk about your marriage just yet." Draco said, feeling ill just thinking of Hermione being with Ron in any way. "We've still got plenty of time to catch him out and prove what he's really like."

"Exactly." Hermione nodded. "I know Ron and he'll slip up sooner or later. Right now he's being so careful with what he says, but he'll forget himself and say something incriminating and when he does I'll be ready."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four.**

Hermione stood in front of the mirror, mentally preparing herself for facing the Weasley's. She hated having to lie to the family she considered her own, but she had no other choice. At the end of the day Ron was their actual family and if she told the truth they would take his side and not believe a word she said against him.

"It'll be fine." Draco said, appearing behind Hermione. "It's only a couple of hours, then you can come home."

"A couple of hours where I'll be doing nothing but lying." Hermione sighed.

"Just remember that it's Weasley who's to blame, not you." Draco said, turning Hermione around so they were standing face to face. "You didn't ask for any of this."

"I know." She nodded. Stepping out of Draco's embrace, Hermione grabbed her bag before turning back to her boyfriend. "Will you still be here when I return?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Draco reassured Hermione.

Hermione smiled in relief before steeling herself to face Ron and his family. Saying a final goodbye to Draco she produced her wand and apparated to Ron's flat. Once there she knocked on the door and was ushered into the flat by a smiling Ron.

"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Ron asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Hermione sighed.

"Well make sure you look happy." Ron snapped, looking unimpressed with Hermione's lack of enthusiasm. "Everyone has to believe this is real."

"They will." Hermione replied. "Now can we get this over with, I want to go home."

"Back to him, I suppose." Ron sneered.

"Yes, back to Draco." Hermione answered, not bothered if Ron knew Draco was waiting for her. "You might be able to force me to marry you, but you can't stop me from being with Draco."

Ron turned red with anger, but he quickly got his temper under control and set about opening the floo network. "You go first." He said, thrusting the floo powder into Hermione's arms.

Hermione took the floo powder and threw a handful into the fire, before stepping into the emerald flames and travelling to The Burrow. Hermione was standing in the front room, brushing soot from her clothes, when Ron followed her through the fire.

"Ron, Hermione." Molly Weasley greeted, entering the room to see who had arrived. "We weren't expecting either of you today."

"We've got something to tell everyone, are they all here?" Ron asked.

"In the garden." Molly answered.

"Come on, let's go spread the news." Ron grinned, grabbing hold of Hermione's hand.

"Wait." Molly cried, stopping the couple before they left the front room. "Are you two together?"

"Yeah." Ron nodded. "But that's not our only news, let's go outside and we can tell everyone."

Molly smiled widely at Ron and Hermione and rushed out into the garden to gather everyone together. As Ron led her into the garden Hermione placed a fake smile on her face and tried not to pull out of his grasp, which was what she really wanted to do.

"Gather round everyone." Molly cried, drawing the attention of the large family. "Ron and Hermione have an announcement to make."

As the entire family gathered around, Hermione felt increasingly guilty with the charade they were getting sucked into. Ron's family would be thrilled with the news and when they discovered it was all fake she worried they would hate her for not telling the truth.

"What's going on?" Ron's sister, Ginny asked, eyeing up the couple's entwined hands.

"We're getting married." Ron announced.

Ron's announcement was met with a mixture of disbelief and excitement. Molly and Ginny were thrilled and immediately rushed forward to hug both Hermione and Ron. The rest of the family were more restrained, but all offered their congratulations.

"This is sudden." Arthur commented. "I didn't even realise you two were together."

"We weren't." Ron said. "But I've always loved Hermione and just couldn't live without her any longer."

"Aww." Ginny cooed. "That's so sweet."

"So Hermione, do you have a ring?" Fleur asked, taking hold of Hermione's hand and searching for any signs of a ring.

"Not yet." Hermione replied.

"Actually, I have it here." Ron said, pulling a ring box from his pocket.

Making a big show of it, he opened the box and pulled the diamond ring from it. Taking hold of Hermione's hand he slipped the ring on her finger. Then before Hermione could respond he leant forward and captured his lips with hers. Hermione's instincts were screaming out for her to push Ron off, but she knew she couldn't so she just waited until he pulled away from her.

"Let's see the ring." Ginny said, pulling Hermione away from Ron the second he had stopped kissing her.

Hermione was more than happy to let Ginny gush over the ring, anything was better than being near to Ron. Unfortunately all too soon Ron was back at her side, sliding his arm around her waist and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"You're doing well." He whispered in her ear, making it look like he was just being affectionate. "They all think we're in love."

"Then you should be happy, your plans working." Hermione muttered.

"Just make sure you keep it up." Ron told her as Molly announced lunch was ready.

Throughout lunch Hermione kept up her charade of being happy and in love with Ron. Luckily Ron was more than happy to chatter about their engagement, leaving her able to smile and play along with his charade. It wasn't until the end of the meal when Hermione feared she may have let her true feelings appear for a second or two. Molly had asked about when they planned on getting married and Ron's answer had left Hermione totally gobsmacked.

"There's this posh hotel that does weddings and they have an opening in six months." Ron told his mother. "I'm going to check it out this week and if I like it, I'll book it."

"Shouldn't that be we?" Harry Potter asked his best friend. "Doesn't Hermione have any say?"

"Of course, but I'm going to do all the organising and give Hermione the perfect stress free wedding." Ron replied smoothly. He wasn't exactly going to say that Hermione had no interest in the wedding so he decided to make himself look good by taking control.

"That's really nice Ron." Ginny smiled at her brother. "It's so romantic, taking charge and making sure Hermione doesn't have to worry."

"I just want her to have the perfect wedding." Ron replied, throwing his arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulling her towards him.

Hermione continued to smile as Ron planted a kiss on her cheek, even though inwardly she was panicking. Six months gave her and Draco very little time to prove what Ron was doing, there was a good chance he could control his words and actions for six months meaning she would have to go ahead with the wedding. All Hermione could hope was that he slipped up in the next six months and the wedding wouldn't take place.

Ron's announcement that the wedding would be so soon made sure it was the main topic of conversation for the rest of the afternoon. All afternoon Hermione pretended she was thrilled that Ron was taking charge and alleviating her of worrying about the wedding. Everyone seemed to be totally convinced of her act, apart from Harry who managed to corner her when Ron was talking to Bill and Fleur.

"What's going on, Hermione?" Harry asked, scrutinising his friend.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She briefly wondered if she could confide in Harry, but she was worried he would believe Ron over her.

"How are you and Ron suddenly engaged?" Harry questioned. "You've made it perfectly clear that you just see him as a friend. What changed?"

"I don't know." Hermione shrugged. "When he proposed it just felt right to say yes."

"Do you love him?"

Hermione faltered under Harry's stare and found she couldn't bring herself to lie to her best friend. Instead of speaking, which she knew would betray her real feelings, she nodded her head.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Hermione." Harry sighed, not sure what exactly was going on between his two best friends. All he did know was something wasn't quite right between them and he was having a hard time believing what they were saying.

"I do." Hermione answered, telling the truth. She knew exactly what she was doing, marrying Ron to save the man she loved.

"Is everything alright here?" Ron asked, suddenly appearing at Hermione's side.

Hermione had noticed Ron watching her and Harry out of the corner of his eye so she wasn't surprised he had shown up to check everything was okay. Ron had probably noticed the atmosphere between her and Harry and was checking their best friend wasn't getting suspicious.

"Everything's fine, I'm just congratulating Hermione." Harry replied, smiling at Ron. "We'll all have to go out and celebrate."

"Yeah we will." Ron nodded. "I'm sure we can find a time soon."

Hermione tuned out as Harry and Ron began discussing possible times to have a night out. She knew whatever night they decided on she would be expected to join them, she just hoped nights out with Harry and Ginny wouldn't become a regular part of her routine. She could act the part of a loving fiancée for the odd hour here and there but she didn't think she would cope very well doing it on a regular basis.

Much to Hermione's relief shortly after speaking to Harry, Ron decided it was time to leave. After saying goodbye to the rest of the family Hermione reluctantly accompanied Ron back to his flat.

"That went well." Ron said, heading to the cabinet in the corner where he kept his alcohol. "Do you want a drink?" He asked, pouring himself a large glass of firewhisky.

"No, I'm going home." Hermione replied.

"Not so quick." Ron called, stopping Hermione as she turned to leave.

"What now?" Hermione asked, turning back to face Ron.

"I just want to remind you to wear the ring in public." Ron said. "I'll be announcing our engagement officially tomorrow, so make sure you're prepared for the congratulations. And you don't need to worry about the wedding, I'll organise everything and when I need you I'll let you know."

"Is that it?" Hermione glared at Ron, not liking the way he was dismissing her and ordering her around.

"For now, I'll be in touch next time I need you." Ron smirked, enjoying the flash of frustration in Hermione's eyes.

Hermione glared at Ron one final time before storming out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her. Once she'd left Ron in his flat she apparated home, where she was pleased to find Draco was still waiting for her.

"How was it?" Draco asked as soon as Hermione entered the flat.

"Awful." Hermione said, collapsing onto the sofa next to her boyfriend and snuggling into him.

For the next few minutes Hermione described her afternoon at the Weasley's and how bad she felt lying to them. She also told him about Ron's plan for a quick wedding.

"Six months doesn't give us very long." Draco muttered. "And I can't see Weasley messing up before the wedding. He wants to marry you more than anything so he's going to be really careful what he says to you."

"I know." Hermione sighed. "Our plan to prove what he's doing is looking shaky."

"What if we find the fake evidence he has on me?" Draco suggested. "If we have the evidence he can't act on it and we'll know what we're fighting against."

"How are we going to get it? He's not just going to hand it over."

"I know, we'll have to find it and steal it."

Hermione sat up and looked at Draco, realising he was deadly serious with his new plan. "How? There's no way either of us will be able to search for it."

"Weasley's probably keeping a close eye on us both, so we need to call in reinforcements." Draco explained. "I was thinking Blaise might be able to help us."

Hermione nodded, knowing Blaise would help them in their quest to prove what Ron was doing to them. "Okay, let's call him and see if he can help. We've got six months to stop Ron, or I'll have to marry him."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Draco replied. Hermione having to marry Ron was a strong possibility but he didn't want to think about it until it was about to happen, for now he was happy to believe they could fix this mess before that day arrived.

* * *

**A/N – Thanks for all the support for this story, as always I'm overwhelmed by how much people are enjoying the story. **

**I also want to reply to the reviewer who was asking me about posting on Hawthorn and Vine. I actually have an account there (the same username), and when I first decided to publish my stories I was going to use both sites. However, I just couldn't figure out how to post over there. I found the whole thing really complicated, so I decided just to stick to fan fiction. If I ever do figure the site out, I'll probably post there as well, but for the time being it looks like this is it.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N – There is a slight time jump in this chapter, bringing us up to right before the wedding.**

* * *

******Chapter Five.**

There was a sombre atmosphere in Draco's penthouse as he sat talking with Hermione and Blaise. It had been almost six months since Ron had first blackmailed Hermione into agreeing to marry him and the trio were no nearer to bringing the redhead down. Despite doing everything he could to help, Blaise had been unsuccessful in his attempt to try and find the fake information Ron had on Draco. Twice he'd successfully broken into Ron's flat, but neither time had he managed to find the information they needed. Unfortunately even then his search had been hindered by the fact he couldn't make a mess, the last thing they wanted was for Ron to realise someone had been in his place.

The atmosphere wasn't helped by the fact the following day Hermione was due to head to the hotel where she would be marrying Ron over the weekend. Draco had already announced that when Hermione left his place the next day he was going to spend a few weeks in his villa in the south of France. He'd reassured his girlfriend he would be back before she returned from honeymoon, but he just couldn't stick around while she married Ron.

"I'm sorry I haven't been much help." Blaise sighed, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

"It's not your fault Blaise." Hermione smiled at her boyfriend's best friend. "Ron's being quite crafty so I'm sure his information is securely hidden somewhere."

"I know, I just wish I'd been able to help you more." Blaise said. "It's awful that you actually have to marry the bastard."

"Hopefully it'll be a short lived marriage." Hermione shrugged. "I'm hoping once we're actually married Ron will get careless and drop himself in it."

"I hope so." Blaise replied, before the trio lapsed back into silence.

After another ten minutes or so Draco detangled himself from where he was sitting on the sofa curled up with Hermione, and stood up. Sitting around was only giving him more time to think, so he had to find something to do to occupy his mind.

"Are you staying for dinner, Blaise?" He asked his friend.

"No." Blaise shook his head. "I'll give you two some space."

Draco nodded before heading into the kitchen to make something to eat. Cooking wasn't something the blond did often, but it was the perfect way for him to distract himself for a while.

Hermione watched her boyfriend leave the room, before she turned back to Blaise. "Can I ask you a favour, Blaise?"

"You can ask me anything." Blaise replied.

"Will you go with Draco to France and keep an eye on him?" Hermione asked. "I don't want him doing anything stupid."

"I was actually already planning on going with him." Blaise answered. "I thought I could get Theo to come along and together we could make sure he was okay."

"Thank Blaise, I appreciate it." Hermione smiled in relief. The last thing she wanted was for Draco to crack and do something that caused Ron to use his information against him.

"It's fine, I don't want him to do anything stupid either. He's my best friend, I don't want to see him end up in Azkaban." Blaise said as he stood up. "I'm going to be off now, but I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Hermione stood up and gave Blaise a hug as she thanked him once again. Blaise then quickly popped into the kitchen to say goodbye to Draco, before leaving the couple to spend one last night together. Once Blaise had gone Hermione wandered into the kitchen, where she leant against the table and watched Draco as he prepared dinner.

"You didn't have to do that you know." Draco commented, not looking up from what he was doing.

"Do what?" Hermione questioned, looking puzzled at what Draco was talking about.

"Ask Blaise to babysit me." Draco replied. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."

"I know, I just don't want you to be on your own." Hermione sighed, walking over to Draco and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Draco put down the knife he was using and turned round to face Hermione. "What exactly do you think I'm going to do?"

"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "But in your position I would definitely be debating interrupting the wedding."

"I admit, I have thought about it." Draco smiled sadly. "I often think I would rather be in Azkaban than have you marry the Weasel, but then I think about the fact I would lose you for good that way."

"I don't want that to happen, Draco." Hermione said softly, reaching up and brushing her hand against Draco's face. "I'm doing this so you can stay a free man."

"I know." Draco whispered. "But it doesn't mean I can't think about stopping the wedding."

"As long as all you do is think about it." Hermione replied.

"Don't worry, I'll stay well away." Draco reassured his girlfriend. "Although I admit your idea to have Blaise around is starting to look appealing. He can make sure I don't lose focus and come after you."

"I wish you could come after me." Hermione sighed, leaning her head against Draco's chest.

"So do I." Draco responded, wrapping his arms tightly around Hermione's waist.

The couple stood in silence for a few minutes before they composed themselves and separated. Wishing wasn't going to get them anywhere, they just had to deal with the situation they were in and hope everything worked out in the end.

"Do you want any help?" Hermione asked, gesturing to the half prepared meal on the counter.

"Sure." Draco smiled, directing Hermione to where he wanted her.

As the couple made dinner they deliberately steered clear of mentioning Ron and the upcoming wedding. Instead they passed the time talking about other trivial things. When dinner was ready the couple settled down to eat, continuing to act as though their world wasn't about to be torn apart. After dinner the couple tidied up before wordlessly heading into the bedroom.

The second they entered the bedroom Draco pulled Hermione into his arms. "I love you." He whispered, brushing his lips over the top of her head.

"I love you, too." Hermione replied, looking up at Draco and gently pressing her lips against his.

Draco deepened the kiss and pulled Hermione even closer to him. Still kissing Draco carefully walked them over to the bed. Briefly lifting his lips away from Hermione's, Draco settled them onto the bed, before continuing what he was doing. As the couple carried on kissing Draco's hands began exploring Hermione's body and he started to slowly undress his girlfriend.

Despite trying to concentrate on Hermione, Draco couldn't help his mind wandering as he gradually exposed his girlfriend's naked body. No matter how hard he tried to forget about what was going to happen in the next few days, he couldn't help but dwell on the fact that Weasley would get to bed Hermione. Hermione had made it clear that she wasn't going to be an active partner in Weasley's bed, but the thought of him touching his girlfriend made Draco's blood boil.

As their clothes came off Hermione watched Draco carefully. His kisses and caresses were soft and gentle, but she could see his mind was elsewhere. Hermione watched her boyfriend, wondering if she was losing him. She knew he loved her, but she wasn't naive enough to think her marriage to Ron wouldn't change anything between them. She was becoming seriously worried that once he knew she had been with Ron he wouldn't look at her in the same way, that he would look at her as though she was tainted.

"What's wrong?" Draco stopped mid-kiss noticing Hermione had tears in her eyes.

"Nothing." Hermione whispered, shaking her head.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco repeated his question, knowing that something was bothering his girlfriend.

"Do you think things will change between us once I'm married?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Possibly, but it won't change how we feel." Draco responded.

"What if it does?" Hermione questioned. "What if you don't want me anymore?"

"Do you mean sexually?" Draco asked, wondering if his thoughts had been obvious to his girlfriend. She was very good at reading him and it was possible she had picked up on the direction his thoughts had taken.

Hermione nodded. "What if I repulse you?"

"That's never going to happen, you could never repulse me." Draco said forcefully. "I love you and Weasley will not ruin that."

"But things will be different. You'll know that's he touched me." Hermione said, shuddering at the mere thought of having Ron's hands on her.

"I'm not going to lie it will be torture knowing he's seen you naked and that he's touched you, but it won't affect how I feel about you." Draco said softly, raising Hermione's head and pressing his lips against hers. "You'll always be mine and I'll always love you."

Hermione smiled slightly at Draco's words, knowing he was telling her the truth. Undoubtedly her marriage would change things between them, but hopefully it wouldn't change how they felt about each other.

"Can we forget about Weasley now?" Draco asked. "I've got my beautiful, half-naked girlfriend on my bed and I really want to concentrate on her."

"I like the sound of that." Hermione grinned, vowing to forget about what could happen in the future.

Draco grinned back at Hermione before crashing his lips against hers and quickly ridding her of the last of her clothing. Clad only in their underwear Hermione and Draco moved further onto the bed. Hermione ended up lying underneath Draco as he began kissing and caressing his way down her body. Within minutes of settling back on the bed both Hermione and Draco had lost their underwear, leaving them completely naked.

Moving at a leisurely pace Draco pinned Hermione underneath him and sunk into her. Hermione moaned at the feeling of having Draco inside her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer to her. Pressed tightly together Draco slowly began to make love to Hermione, the couple staring into each other's eyes the entire time.

"I love you, Hermione." Draco whispered lovingly as he brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I love you, and I always will." Hermione gasped, bucking her hips up against Draco's.

Draco smiled down at Hermione before connecting their lips. Breaking the kiss Draco's slow pace began to pick up, as their lovemaking became more passionate. As the couple moved effortlessly together Ron was the furthest thing from their minds as they lost themselves in each other. In a culmination of panting and moaning the couple reached their climaxes together, before collapsing onto the bed.

After catching their breath the couple resumed their activities, both eager to make the most of their time together. After Hermione left the following day it would be well over a fortnight before they saw each other again and they had no idea what the situation would be once Hermione was married. They didn't intend to stop seeing each other but they both knew things would be very different with Ron in the picture.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six.**

Over the last six months Hermione had perfected her act as the excited bride-to-be and the morning of her wedding was no different. As Molly, Ginny and Fleur flitted about the hotel room, panicking about last minute dramas, Hermione sat totally unconcerned. She couldn't care less if the entire wedding was a disaster, but instead of showing her indifference to everyone she projected an air of calm.

"I can't believe you're so calm, Hermione." Ginny commented, as she stood behind Hermione to pin up her curls. "I don't think I'll be this calm when I marry Harry."

"Ah, but Hermione's been lucky enough to have a loving fiancé that's organised every single detail." Fleur pointed out. "It's easy to be calm when everything's already sorted."

"True." Ginny nodded. "Ron's been brilliant hasn't he, Hermione?"

Hermione made a sound that could be construed as agreement as she didn't trust herself to speak in case she accidentally revealed her true feelings regarding Ron. To his family Ron was a great guy, who had selflessly undertaken the task of organising the entire wedding. He'd booked the full wedding package at the hotel, which included the ceremony, reception and accommodation for the entire event, and he'd even organised which shop Hermione should get her dress from.

"I'm going to go and make sure the boys or all in order." Molly announced. "I won't be long."

Shortly after Molly left Ginny finished Hermione's hair and announced it was time for her to get dressed. Hermione thanked Ginny for helping her with her hard to control curls as she stood up and wandered over to the bed to pick some underwear from her case.

"Put them back, Hermione." Ginny told her friend as she sorted her underwear. "We have a little treat for you."

"I think it's Ron that will get the treat." Fleur chuckled as she summoned a little black and pink bag and handed it to Hermione.

When she opened the bag to find a set of lacy cream underwear Hermione had to work hard not to grimace. The last thing she wanted was to wear sexy underwear for Ron, but she knew it would look strange if she didn't accept.

"Thanks, they're lovely." Hermione smiled slightly at Ginny and Fleur before ducking into the bathroom to change.

Hermione was slightly more relived when the underwear was on and it wasn't quite as revealing as she'd initially feared, she had much sexier sets at home. Returning to the bedroom Hermione endured a few minutes of Ginny and Fleur telling her what a fun wedding night she was in for before they started to put on her dress.

Hermione's dress was a long, off white affair that was a bit too elaborate for her tastes. When it had come to picking the dress Hermione hadn't really been interested so she had chosen a dress that both Molly and Ginny had gushed over. If Hermione had been picking a dress to marry Draco she would have gone for a simple and elegant dress but considering she was marrying Ron she didn't want a dress she liked, she was much happier to be wearing a dress she wasn't keen on.

"You look lovely, Hermione." Ginny gushed, once the dress was on.

"Thanks." Hermione smiled at her friend. She actually looked nicer in the dress than she thought she would and looking at herself in the mirror she realised she looked every inch the happy bride-to-be.

With the dress on, final preparations were made and Molly returned to announce everything was in place. As Molly shooed Ginny and Fleur away to get ready to do their bridesmaid duties, Arthur entered the room. Arthur had agreed to give Hermione away as her parents were still in Australia with no memories of their daughter. Reversing the memory charm on them had been too dangerous so Hermione had ended up losing her parents.

"Five minutes." Molly said, as she gave Hermione a quick kiss and left the room.

Hermione and Arthur stood around in silence for the five minutes before Arthur took hold of Hermione's arm and escorted her out of the room. Hermione paid little attention to her surroundings as Arthur led her through the hotel to the ballroom, where the wedding ceremony was taking place. Pausing outside the ballroom Hermione took a deep breath before the doors opened and she found herself preparing to marry someone she loathed. Keeping in mind the reasons she was doing this, Hermione nodded to Arthur and the pair entered the ballroom.

* * *

Hermione grabbed a glass of champagne off the drinks table as she wandered out of the marquee in search of some air. She'd just endured having to marry Ron, followed by all of the pomp of the reception. Luckily the formal part of the reception was over and people were mingling around the grounds of the hotel.

Hermione wandered over to stone bench and sat down, obscuring herself from view with the rose bushes that surrounded the bench. As she sat sipping her champagne Hermione struggled to keep the tears from falling. She'd been on the verge of tears since the wedding ceremony began, but she knew if she started to cry then she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Today was without doubt the worst day of her life and all she wanted was to wake up and find the entire mess had been a bad dream. Unfortunately she knew that wasn't going to happen, this was her life and until Ron slipped up she was stuck with him.

Hermione had just finished the last of her champagne when she looked up and spotted Ron heading in her direction. She contemplated getting up and leaving but she knew he had seen her and would only chase after her. Instead she remained where she was, hoping he didn't stay long before he returned to the party.

"I've been looking for you." Ron announced, coming to a stop in front of the bench.

"Here I am." Hermione replied, making no move to get up or make room for Ron to sit beside her.

"I want to talk to you about Malfoy." Ron said, causing Hermione to frown in confusion.

"What about him?" She asked warily, hoping he hadn't done something to Draco.

"I know you're having an affair with him and I want you to stop. We're married now and I would prefer it if you didn't sleep with other men."

Hermione gaped at Ron in bewilderment, not sure where this was coming from. He was making out as thought their marriage was genuine and she was cheating on him.

"That won't be happening." Hermione managed to reply.

"Please, Hermione. As your husband I'm begging you, break it off with Malfoy. I love you and I forgive you, but it needs to stop."

Ron shot Hermione a sad look before turning on his heel and walking back in the direction of the marquee. Hermione looked at his retreating figure in complete shock, she had no idea what stunt he was pulling now and what the point of that stupid conversation was.

Shaking her head Hermione got up and went striding after her new husband, not noticing the shocked figures of Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan behind her. The pair had been sitting on a bench a few metres away from Hermione, hidden by the rose bushes, and unbeknown to her they had heard her entire conversation with Ron.

It took Hermione another hour before she managed to get Ron alone. Every time she approached him he found an excuse to wander off to bring someone into the conversation and even when he didn't they were still interrupted by people wanting to talk to the happy couple.

"What the hell was that?" Hermione hissed, finally manoeuvring Ron into a corner of the marquee.

"What?" Ron asked playing innocent.

"That stupid conversation in the garden, making it sound like I was having an affair." Hermione replied.

"Well technically you are, you're married to me not Malfoy." Ron retorted sharply. "I was just reminding you of the situation."

"I know the situation." Hermione snorted. "And I don't care if we're married or not, I'm not giving up Draco. He's the one I love, not you."

"I know that." Ron shrugged, determined not to let Hermione see how much that fact bothered him. "But you're still my wife."

"In name only." Hermione scowled.

Ron smirked and leant forward, running a finger down the side of Hermione's face. "It'll be more than name only tonight. I'm looking forward to consummating out marriage. It's a shame Malfoy got there first, but I suppose sloppy seconds will have to do."

Without thinking Hermione pulled out of Ron's grasp and in a fit of anger she raised her hand and slapped him. The sharp sound of the slap echoed around the marquee and Hermione was only vaguely aware that people were staring.

"I hate you Ron Weasley." She declared loudly. "Marrying you was the worst moment of my life and I wish you were dead."

Turning around Hermione felt the tears begin to fall as she pushed past the curious crowds and fled the marquee. Running into the hotel she acquired her room key and fled up to the honeymoon suite. Collapsing onto the large bed she finally gave into the tears that had been threatening to spill all day.

An hour later Hermione was still lying on the bed, although the tears had abated and she was blankly staring at the ceiling. Hermione heard the door to the room opening, but she failed to turn around when she heard Ron entering the suite.

"Don't worry, I've dealt with the mess you left." Ron said. "I claimed you were just tired and didn't mean what you said."

"I meant every word." Hermione muttered.

"I know you did." Ron chuckled, moving so he was standing beside the bed. "And so did I." He whispered, leaning down and brushing his lips over Hermione's cheek. "I'm looking forward to tonight, and we'll be having sex whether you want to or not. I'm your husband now and I can have you whenever I want."

Hermione shuddered at Ron's words and flinched away from his touch, causing him to laugh cruelly. At the sound Hermione finally looked at her former friend and wondered what had happened to him. Where was the caring boy she'd known for years gone and when had he been replaced by the monster in front of her?

"Don't worry, I'm not coming to bed just yet." Ron said, backing up from the bed. "I'm going to have a few more drinks. But I'll be back soon and we're going to have some fun. I'm sure I'm more than capable of outperforming Malfoy in the sack."

Hermione snorted at Ron's misplaced confidence as she watched the redhead leave. After Ron had left Hermione sat up, noticing a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, and two glasses sitting on the table beside the sofa. Ron must have brought them up with him when he had come to torment her.

Knowing he meant everything he'd just said Hermione decided she needed to prepare for his return. Whether she liked it or not he was taking her to bed so she might as well get drunk first, at least that way she wouldn't have to think about what was happening. Hermione was already slightly tipsy from the champagne she'd drank earlier in the day so she didn't think it would take much to get her drunk enough to endure Ron's touch.

Pouring herself a large glass of the bubbly, Hermione began to drink. One drink turned into two then three and before she knew it the bottle was nearly gone. Deciding to finish the remaining few drops Hermione lifted the bottle to her lips and let the last bit of the drink drizzle down her neck. Placing the bottle back in the bucket she unsteadily walked back over to the bed, where she proceeded to collapse onto the silk sheets and fall into blackness.

* * *

**A/N – Time wise, the prologue fits in between this chapter and the next one. The next chapter will be Hermione arriving in France where Draco is. From there the mystery of what happened on the wedding night slowly unravels, and I promise you will discover if Ron followed through on his promise to sleep with Hermione. A few people also seemed concerned that Harry might approve of what Ron's doing, but I can assure you that he doesn't. Harry is a good guy in this and a chapter from his point of view will be coming up very shortly.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven.**

Blaise and Theo stood in the kitchen of Draco's villa, watching their friend in the front room. Draco was sitting on the sofa staring into space, which was what he'd been doing all morning. The previous day had been Hermione's wedding day and it was obvious to Draco's friends that he was struggling to come to terms with what had happened.

The previous morning he'd been on the verge of returning home and stopping the wedding. Blaise and Theo had talked him out of leaving the villa, but they had confiscated his wand just in case. All that morning Draco had stalked around the villa, complaining about having to let Hermione marry Weasley, but as the day wore on he got quieter and quieter. Eventually he had settled in his bedroom where he had been until early that morning. Blaise and Theo suspected that Draco hadn't slept the previous night, but they didn't know for sure as the only response they could get from Draco was the odd grunt. He'd been unresponsive all morning and the pair were at a loss as to what they should do with the blond.

"Should I ask him if he wants some lunch?" Theo asked.

"You can try, but I doubt you'll get a response." Blaise sighed.

"This is just awful." Theo tutted, turning away from Draco and leaning against the kitchen counter. "I've never seen him so despondent before."

"Neither have I." Blaise admitted quietly. "I just hope Weasley slips up quickly and Hermione can catch him out. The longer she's married to that scumbag the harder Draco is going to find it."

"You think he's going to get worse?" Theo asked, turning his head to look at Blaise.

Blaise nodded sombrely as he turned to face Theo. "I think he's going to get a lot worse. He'll be blaming himself for what Hermione is going through and the longer she's stuck with Weasley the worse he'll feel."

"Something tells me Weasley won't slip up that easily." Theo muttered.

"Hermione seems to think he will." Blaise replied. "And she knows him better than us."

"The person she knows wouldn't have done this." Theo pointed out. "Weasley's clearly a very different person to the one she thinks she knows, and I don't think she can read him as well as she thinks."

"What makes you think he won't slip up?" Blaise questioned his friend, interested on hearing his opinions on a man he barely knew.

"Hermione is clearly the thing he most desires and after everything he's done to get her, he won't risk losing her so easily." Theo explained. "It's just my opinion, but I don't think he'll be that easy to catch out. He's kept this charade up for six months and now he actually has Hermione, I'm betting he'll do anything to keep her."

"You could be right." Blaise conceded his friend had a point. After everything he'd done so far, they'd be stupid to underestimate him now.

"I hope I'm not right." Theo said. "But I just think we need to acknowledge that it could take a while to catch Weasley out."

Blaise nodded in agreement, but before he had chance to respond he caught sight of a movement in the front room out of the corner of his eye. Turning his attention to the front room he spotted Draco rising purposefully from the sofa.

"Draco, are you alright?" Blaise called.

"Someone's breached the wards." Draco replied.

"Who?" Theo asked as him and Blaise entered the front room.

"I don't know Theo, I'm not psychic." Draco retorted. "But it has to be someone with magic, muggles can't cross the property line."

"Are they heading for the villa or have they just accidentally wandered across the wards?" Blaise inquired. He knew the property was fairly sizable and there was a possibility someone had just wandered over a distant part of the property by accident.

"I don't know." Draco shrugged. "But it's better to be ready. Give me my wand, Blaise."

Blaise reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out both his and Draco's wands. Handing the blond his wand he kept his own in his hand, ready to face any danger they might be in. Theo had also drawn his wand and the three men stood waiting to see if anyone approached the villa.

A few minutes later there was a hammering at the front door. While Draco went to answer the door Blaise and Theo stayed back, although they made sure they had their friends back if it was needed. Draco checked his friends were ready before he swung the door open, gasping when he found Hermione standing on the doorstep.

Draco didn't even get a chance to open his mouth before Hermione hurled herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she cried into his chest. Draco's arms automatically wrapped around Hermione as he tried to soothe her. His heart was hammering in his chest as he tried to work out what could have gotten Hermione in such a state, but he was doing his best to stay calm.

"What's wrong?" He whispered to his shaking girlfriend.

Instead of replying Hermione sobbed even louder and clung onto him some more. Draco shared a concerned look with Blaise and Theo as he manoeuvred Hermione over to the sofa and sat down with her still in his arms. Blaise grabbed the bag Hermione had left on the doorstep before he and Theo joined the couple in the front room.

"Hermione sweetheart, you need to tell me what's wrong." Draco said softly, brushing his hand over her hair.

"Ron's dead." Hermione mumbled, so quiet that only Draco heard what she had said.

Draco's eyes widened in shock and he gently lifted Hermione's head. "Did you just say Weasley was dead?"

Hermione nodded before dropping her head back down and continuing to cry. As he continued to soothe his upset girlfriend, Draco looked over to his equally shocked friends. Blaise and Theo looked just as baffled as he felt at the news. Draco had plenty of questions for Hermione, but he knew until she calmed down a bit she wouldn't be able to tell them anything.

"I'll go and make some tea." Theo suggested. Like Draco he recognised the fact they would have to calm Hermione down before they got the details of what had happened.

While Theo made the tea Draco concentrated on Hermione and by the time Theo returned to the room she was sitting up straighter, although she was still huddled into Draco's side. Theo placed the tray on the coffee table and handed a cup straight over to Hermione.

"There you go, you look as though you need it."

"Thanks." Hermione whispered, taking the warm cup off Theo and cradling it in her hands.

Draco waited until everyone else had their tea and were settled down before he turned to Hermione. "Are you ready to tell us what happened?"

"That's the thing, I don't know what happened." Hermione said quietly. "But I think I may have killed Ron."

Draco looked at his girlfriend in shock for a minute, before forcefully shaking his head. "That's just not possible. I don't know what's gone on but I do know you're not a killer. You did not kill Weasley."

"How can you be so sure?" Hermione questioned, looking at Draco and seeing there wasn't a trace of doubt in his eyes. He genuinely didn't believe she was guilty.

"Because I know you." Draco said, placing his cup of tea on the table and cupping Hermione's face in his hand. "And you're not a killer. There's not a bad bone in your body."

"I'm with Draco on this." Blaise piped up. "You just don't have it in you to kill someone."

"But you don't know what happened yet." Hermione argued. "Once I've finished telling you everything you might think I'm guilty."

"I'm sure we won't." Theo said, smiling softly at Hermione. "But I do think we need to know what happened."

"Theo's right, Hermione. You need to tell us what happened." Draco said softly to his girlfriend. "But there's no rush, tell us in your own time."

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath before speaking. "When I woke up this morning I found Ron lying dead beside me. His face had been beaten with a bat and he'd been killed with the killing curse. I was covered in blood and my wand had been used to kill him."

"What did you do?" Blaise asked.

"I ran." Hermione replied. "I took in the scene and realised I would be the prime suspect. I was the only person with Ron, I have no memories of last night and I'd publically slapped him earlier in the day. I know if I hadn't run, I would have been arrested."

"What do you mean you have no memories of last night?" Draco frowned, not liking what Hermione had just described. To him it sounded an awful lot like she'd been set up.

"Exactly what I said, I have no memories of last night. I can remember being in the suite and drinking, but I don't know what happened after that." Hermione said.

"What about the fight with Weasley you mentioned?" Blaise asked. "Why did you slap him?"

"At the reception we had this dodgy little argument. He approached me and told me to end my affair with Draco." Hermione explained. "It made no sense to me so I chased after him and finally got him alone. We then argued some more and I hit him. Not to mention I told him marrying him was the worst moment of my life and I wished he was dead."

"Ouch, talk about dropping yourself in it." Theo remarked. "That argument would make you a prime suspect in his death."

"Exactly." Hermione nodded.

"What exactly did he say to you?" Draco asked. He knew for Hermione to have slapped Ron and told him what she thought of him he would have provoked her somehow.

Hermione sighed and looked away from Draco before answering. "He said he was sleeping with me whether I wanted it or not. He then made a crack about me being with you first, and he would have to make do with sloppy seconds."

"Bloody bastard, if he wasn't already dead I would kill him myself." Draco seethed, before a thought struck him. Turning to Hermione, he made her look at him before asking his next question. "Did he touch you? Did he force himself on you?"

"I don't know." Hermione whispered. "He came to the bedroom and told me he'd be back later. He made it clear we would be having sex, but I don't know if he actually did anything. I started drinking in the hopes of getting drunk and I don't remember anything else. However this morning I was wearing a negligée I didn't recognise."

Draco growled, anger for the redhead threatening to overwhelm him. The only thing's keeping him where he was, were the fact that Weasley was dead and Hermione was upset and clearly needed his support.

"So do you still think I'm innocent?" Hermione questioned the three men. She knew just how guilty she sounded and while she suspected Draco would believe she wasn't guilty she reckoned that Blaise and Theo would have their doubts.

"Yes." Blaise responded with a nod of the head. "I think you're innocent."

"So do I." Theo agreed.

"We've told you, you're not a killer." Draco told Hermione, letting his anger go as he concentrated on his girlfriend. "Either you're being set up, or someone took advantage of your muddled state and framed you."

"Why would anyone do either of those things?" Hermione questioned.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Draco replied.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"First of all we need a good look at what happened yesterday and this morning. Can you give us your memories so we can look at them properly? Maybe there's a detail hidden there that you overlooked." Draco said to Hermione, who nodded and agreed to hand over her memories.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think that's the first thing we should be doing." Blaise interrupted the couple. "From what Hermione's told us she'll be the prime suspect when Weasley is found. They're going to come looking for her and eventually they're going to turn up here. Your relationship might not be public knowledge, but with some digging the Aurors can discover it."

"Blaise is right." Draco nodded. "How did you get here?" He asked Hermione.

"I flew the muggle way, but I know they'll trace me eventually." Hermione admitted.

"Then we need to get you two out of the country under the radar." Blaise said. "I'll help sort that."

"I'll also help however I can." Theo volunteered.

"Thanks Theo, we appreciate it." Draco smiled at his friend. "I think you can help us best by going home and finding out what's happening. We need to keep up to date with what's going on."

"Are we leaving straight away?" Hermione asked.

"I think the sooner the better." Blaise replied. "Once we're out of here we can look at your memories and try and discover what we're dealing with."

"That sounds like a plan." Draco nodded. "It'll only take me a few minutes to pack."

"How are we going to leave the country without anyone knowing?" Hermione asked Blaise as Draco and Theo went off to pack. "Travelling magically we'll leave a trail the Aurors can easily follow and even travelling the muggle way leaves a trail."

"Leave that to me." Blaise grinned. "First things first we're going to move to my mother's place on the French border. We can then work on getting us over the border without suspicion."

"Us? You're coming with us?"

Blaise nodded and gave Hermione a reassuring smile. "Yes, I'm coming to help. I think the Aurors will identify you as the killer, meaning we'll have to search for whoever did this ourselves."

"What if it turns out I did do it?" Hermione whispered.

"If the worst did happen and you did kill Weasley in a fit of rage, we'll protect you." Blaise said. "Don't worry Hermione, Draco will never let anything happen to you, he'll make sure you're safe."


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N – This chapter is from Harry's point of view. It shows his feelings on what has happened and what happened at the hotel after Hermione left. There isn't a great deal of conversation in this chapter, as it's mostly Harry's thoughts on recent events. **

* * *

**Chapter Eight.**

Harry ran a hand through his already dishevelled hair as he tried to pay attention to what the Auror was telling them. The last forty eight hours had been dreadful and Harry was far too tired to try and listen to what his colleague was saying. Harry was also still in shock, the previous day Ron's body had been discovered in the honeymoon suite and there was no sign of Hermione. What had initially been thought to be a murder and kidnapping soon turned into a killer fleeing the scene of the crime as evidence against Hermione began to stack up.

Trying to focus Harry heard the Auror say they could go home. Since the discovery of Ron's body the entire wedding party, all the guests and hotel staff had been required to stay on the premises as the initial investigation was conducted. Now however the inquiry would be based at the Ministry and everyone was finally free to go home and try to digest what had happened.

The Weasley's and their family all stuck together as they packed up and headed back to The Burrow. As Ginny's fiancé, and an honorary part of the family, Harry joined them. Molly had already been sedated by a healer and as soon as they were home Arthur whisked her away to bed. Harry watched the couple go, wondering if they would ever recover from losing Ron. Fred dying in the war had been hard enough for the family to deal with and Harry didn't know if Molly and Arthur could cope with losing a second son.

"Can we go home, Harry?" Ginny asked quietly, coming up beside her fiancé.

Harry turned to Ginny and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Sure sweetheart." He said, gently kissing her forehead.

After saying goodbye to the rest of the family Harry and Ginny flooed back to their house. Once they were home Harry magically sent their bags upstairs while Ginny busied herself making a pot of tea. Harry watched Ginny fuss around the kitchen, knowing she was just trying to distract herself from what was happening.

"How are you doing?" He asked, when the couple took their tea and settled in the front room.

"I'm numb." Ginny admitted. "I just can't believe what's happened."

Harry nodded understandingly, he knew exactly what Ginny meant. The last couple of days had all been so surreal and like everyone else he was also struggling to comprehend what had happened. In the space of a few hours he'd lost both of his best friends and all the Weasley's lives had been blown apart.

"I know, the whole thing's such a mess." Harry sighed.

"I still can't believe he's gone." Ginny whispered. Out of all of her brothers she was closest to Ron and his death had shaken her pretty badly.

"Neither can I." Harry said, wrapping his arm around Ginny and leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "I can't believe we'll never see him again."

"You know what makes this worse?" Ginny said quietly. "The fact someone we loved has done this. Hermione was part of our family and she's torn it to shreds."

"What if it wasn't Hermione?" Harry suggested tentatively. He knew the evidence against his best friend was strong and that all the Weasley's were assuming the worst about her, but Harry just couldn't believe the woman he loved as a sister was capable of such brutality.

At Harry's words Ginny pulled away from her fiancé and turned to glare at him. "I hope you're not going to stand up for her, Harry. Hermione killed my brother, you can't deny that."

"I just don't believe she did this." Harry said. "There has to be another explanation."

"I don't want to believe it any more than you do, but you have to look at the evidence." Ginny argued. "If she didn't do it, why did she run?"

"Maybe she was scared." Harry replied. Despite not believing Hermione had killed Ron the fact she had ran was proving hard for him to understand, she was just making herself look even more guilty.

"Scared she was going to be caught." Ginny snorted. "You have to face facts Harry, we didn't really know Hermione. The person we thought she was would never do this and she most certainly wouldn't have cheated on Ron."

Harry frowned at the mention of Hermione's supposed cheating. The revelation about her affair with Malfoy had come to light after Ron's death. A few hours after the wedding Seamus and Dean had overheard Ron begging Hermione to end her affair with Malfoy. While Harry didn't doubt what Seamus and Dean had overheard, something about it just didn't sit right with him. In Harry's opinion, if Ron had known Hermione was sleeping with Malfoy then there's no way he would have married her.

"I know it looks bad Ginny, but I just don't believe Hermione killed Ron." Harry told his fiancée.

"Think what you want Harry." Ginny snapped as she stood up. "I know she's your best friend, but so was Ron. He's the victim here, not Hermione. You need to accept what's really happened, not cling onto hopes of what you want to have happened."

As Ginny left the room to go to bed Harry watched her go, her words echoing in his head. Was he really just clinging onto false hope or was it gut instinct telling him something was wrong? Settling back on the sofa Harry stared into space as he thought about Hermione, Ron and the past few months. He needed to know if he truly thought Hermione was innocent or if he was just hoping for it.

First of all Harry had to admit that if he was the Auror investigating Ron's death and he didn't know the people involved he would place Hermione as chief suspect. Harry had been one of the first people on the scene and he'd witnessed the horror of what had happened to Ron. His friend had only been identifiable because of where he was found, his height, build and red hair, and the fact he was wearing his wedding ring and watch. Ron's face was completely caved in and the rest of his body looked to have sustained a severe beating. Ron hadn't just been killed, he'd been murdered in brutal style by someone who clearly hated him.

Hermione made the top of the suspect list for a few reasons. The most incriminating thing was the fact she had fled and not informed anyone of Ron's death. Harry knew her bloody fingerprints had been found on the beater's bat that had been confirmed as the one used on Ron. While the killing curse had been cast, it hadn't come from Ron's wand, leading the Auror's to presume it had been cast with Hermione's. Then there was the fact the room didn't appear to have been broken into, making it hard to argue that someone had broken in and killed Ron while he slept. Then there was the ferocious argument everyone heard the pair having during the reception and when that was combined with the information from Dean and Seamus it wasn't looking good for Hermione.

As well as all the damning evidence against Hermione, Harry was also able to see the other side of things. He'd known Hermione since they were eleven years old and he truly believed she didn't have it in her to commit such a cold blooded murder. He also had the events of the past six months to contemplate and the uneasy feeling he had surrounding his friend's reunion. As he started to think back, Harry found himself wishing he'd acted on his doubts earlier.

Right from the beginning Harry had been sceptical of the reunion between Hermione and Ron. Their engagement had come from nowhere and Harry had gotten the distinct impression that Hermione was unhappy with what was happening. Sure she acted happy and when he confronted her she claimed to be fine, but Harry wasn't convinced. After their earlier brief try at a relationship Hermione had sworn that nothing would ever happen between them again and that they were better off as friends, so it made no sense that she would agree to marry Ron without even giving the relationship another try first. Jumping into marriage with someone she didn't love wasn't something Hermione would do, so Harry was confused as to why she was doing it with Ron.

Harry's confusion continued to grow over the six months they were engaged. While Ron was always chattering about the wedding and planning everything, Hermione kept quiet on the subject. She seemed content to let Ron organise every little thing and several times when the wedding was mentioned Harry thought she seemed repulsed at the idea. However Harry didn't say anything at the time, much to his frustration now he was looking back on everything. Maybe if he'd spoken to Hermione during the engagement he could have worked out what was going on and why she was marrying Ron when it was something she was clearly unhappy about.

Since he hadn't said anything the wedding went ahead, leaving Harry to think back a few days and ponder over events of the weekend. The wedding itself had been pretty smooth sailing and to be honest Harry had been so caught up in the ceremony as he pictured his own wedding to Ginny, he'd failed to notice how Hermione reacted to the whole thing. The reception however had been a different matter and Harry had definitely noticed the frosty atmosphere between the bride and groom.

Almost as soon as the speeches were over and the first dance was finished Hermione disappeared from the marquee. Harry didn't really see Hermione again until early evening when she'd had the massive argument with Ron. Harry had been standing close enough to the pair to see the hate in Hermione's eyes as she looked at Ron, and for a brief minute as she fled, the emotion was reciprocated in Ron's eyes. Ron however quickly recovered and played the whole thing down, claiming that Hermione was just over tired from events of the day.

Looking back Harry could once again see where he should have intervened. He should have either confronted Ron to find out what had really happened, or went after Hermione to check she was okay. As it was he did neither, instead he let himself get distracted by Ginny. Before he knew it the evening had worn on and Ron was heading off to bed with a bottle of champagne for him and Hermione. As it turned out that was the last he saw of Ron as his friend headed off to enjoy his wedding night.

When neither Hermione nor Ron were around the following morning Harry allowed himself to believe they'd worked things out and were enjoying their first day as husband and wife. He was quite content to believe that all morning and his illusion was only shattered shortly after lunchtime when the manager of the hotel approached him and told him something terrible had happened. The manager explained how one of the maids had been delivering a pre-ordered lunch to the honeymoon suite and had found Ron.

Harry had grabbed The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shackelbolt, who was a guest at the wedding, and the pair headed up to investigate. There they had found Ron's body and no sign of Hermione. Initially they had feared that someone had killed Ron and kidnapped Hermione, but when Kingsley called in a couple of Aurors and they began investigating a different picture began to emerge. Before the end of the day Hermione was officially a wanted woman as the Aurors in charge of the investigation were convinced she'd killed Ron in a fit of anger and fled the scene before she could be caught.

Looking back on everything Harry could see why Hermione looked guilty, but he was convinced she was innocent. There was definitely something strange going on between Hermione and Ron and he was determined to find out what. He also had no idea who could have killed Ron, but he wasn't going to follow what everyone else said and blame Hermione. He knew the Aurors in charge of the case had Hermione down as the killer, but he was going to make sure they explored every avenue and didn't just assume Hermione was guilty.

Getting up and heading upstairs to bed Harry vowed to discover the truth about Ron's death. Not only did he owe it to his two best friends to work out what had happened, but the Weasley's also deserved to know the truth. If Hermione was guilty he would have to accept it, but Harry knew in his heart that she was innocent.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine.**

Once the decision was made to leave the south of France, things progressed quickly. Draco, Blaise and Theo all packed their belongings while Draco and Theo made arrangements to keep in touch via Blaise. Once everyone was packed Theo headed home to find out what was happening while Blaise, Draco and Hermione prepared to leave for Blaise's mother's cottage.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Draco asked, picking up Hermione's bag.

Hermione nodded as she stood up. "How are we getting there?"

"I'll apparate you." Blaise replied. "Draco knows where he's going, but because you've never been to the house before you'll need to be with me to get through the wards."

"Thank you for doing this." Hermione said as Blaise wrapped his arm firmly around her waist. "I know you don't have to risk yourself for me and I appreciate it."

"I'm not risking anything, I'm helping my best friend and the woman he loves in a time of need." Blaise responded, giving Hermione a warm smile.

"We still really appreciate it, mate." Draco said.

Blaise nodded as he announced it was time to leave. After double checking with Draco that he was alright on his own, Blaise turned to Hermione and checked she was ready. When Hermione confirmed she was ready Blaise took out his wand and apparated him and Hermione to his mother's cottage. Blaise and Hermione arrived in the middle of a small but cosy living room. Hermione had barely gotten a chance to look around before Draco arrived carrying the bags.

"What now?" Draco asked Blaise as he wrapped his arms around Hermione.

"We wait until dark before we cross the border into Italy." Blaise explained. "From there we go to my place and I have the perfect hiding hole for the pair of you."

"How are we going to get across the border undetected?" Hermione asked.

Since the war security around the wizarding world was tight and a witch or wizard couldn't enter a new country without registering in some way. The only reason Hermione hadn't registered in France was because she travelled the muggle way, but even then she was traceable through the flight she took.

"We're going to fly." Blaise answered. "And you two won't be detected because from now on you're not going to use magic. If you don't use magic there's no way the authorities can trace you."

"What do you mean, we're going to fly?" Hermione queried, suddenly even more nervous.

"I've got a couple of brooms upstairs." Blaise answered. "I'll take the luggage on one and you and Draco can travel on the other."

"Don't worry, I'll look after you." Draco told Hermione, knowing she hated flying.

"I know." Hermione whispered, leaning back into Draco and taking comfort in his arms.

Draco briefly hugged Hermione closer to him, before walking them over to a nearby sofa and settling them down. Blaise settled himself in the chair opposite and the three sat in silence as they waited for night to fall so they could continue on out of the country.

Darkness fell all too quickly for Hermione's liking and before she knew it Draco was settling her on a broomstick. Once Blaise was ready Draco climbed on behind Hermione and the two wizards began the flight into Italy. Hermione kept her eyes shut for most of the journey, trusting Draco to keep her safe. After a good few hours Hermione felt them coming into land and she opened her eyes, finding they had arrived in the garden of a small farm house.

"This place belongs to an Aunt, from here we can floo to my place in Milan." Blaise explained as they dismounted the brooms. "From there we'll travel to my villa on the coast."

"Aren't we putting your Aunt in danger by being here?" Hermione asked. She felt bad enough that she'd dragged Blaise and Theo into her mess, and she didn't want anyone else to break the law for her.

"Nah." Blaise shook his head. "She'll not even know we've been here."

Leading the way into the house Blaise quietly circumvented the wards as they made their way into the kitchen, where the fire was located. Setting the fire up, he let Draco and Hermione travel through the floo first. Both of them already knew the address as both had visited Blaise often enough in his massive penthouse in the centre of Milan.

Shortly after arriving at Blaise's place Draco and Hermione were joined by Blaise himself. Throwing his own bags and the brooms into his room, Blaise returned to where Hermione and Draco were waiting for him in the front room.

"For this part I'm going to have to personally apparate you both to the villa." He explained to the couple. "The wards are set so no-one can enter the property without me."

"Can you take us both together or will you need to make two trips?" Draco asked.

"I'll need to take two trips. The wards won't allow two new people onto the property together." Blaise said. "It shouldn't take us much longer though. I can drop one person off and come straight back for the other."

"Okay, take Hermione first." Draco said.

Hermione didn't argue as Blaise once again wrapped his arm around her and whisked her off for the second time. When they arrived they were standing in a dark kitchen and Blaise warned her not to turn on any lights. He didn't want to alert anyone to their presence at the villa.

"Stay right here." Blaise ordered Hermione as he prepared to go back for Draco. "I'll be back in two minutes."

Hermione heard Blaise leave with a pop and before she knew it she heard the sound again and he returned with Draco. The second he arrived Draco walked over to Hermione and wrapped her in his arms, checking she was coping with all the running.

"Now to hide the pair of you." Blaise announced.

"I thought we were staying here." Draco said, turning to his friend. The pair had managed a couple of quiet conversations since leaving his villa in France and Blaise kept mentioning his new villa on the Italian coast as the final destination.

"I don't know how safe you'll be here." Blaise admitted. "Until we speak to Theo we have no idea what's going on at home. If they make the connection between you two they're going to be searching for you both. As your best friend they might think you're hiding with me and they could end up searching this property."

"So where are we going?" Draco asked. "By that logic we can't go anywhere owned by me, you or even anyone we know."

"Actually you're going somewhere that's technically part of this property, only no-one knows of its existence." Blaise said. "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

Blaise led the couple out of the back door and down onto a deserted beach. The moon in the sky was the trio's only light as they made their way across the beach to a small dock. A small motor boat was sitting tied up to the dock and Blaise jumped aboard, followed by Hermione and Draco.

"So are you going to tell us where we're going?" Draco asked as Blaise started the boat and began steering them out to sea.

"We're going to a secret island about half an hour off the coast." Blaise explained. "There's a cloaking spell on it and unless I lift it you can't tell it's there. Anyone looking for it will pass straight by unless it's uncloaked."

After Blaise's explanation the trip passed in silence, until he suddenly stopped the boat seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Taking out his wand Blaise muttered a string of Italian spells and slowly a small island with a house standing on top of a hill shimmered into view. Now he could see where he was going Blaise guided the boat into the island's dock and tied it up. Once out of the boat Blaise re-cloaked the island and led Draco and Hermione up to the house.

"I'm afraid there's not much here." Blaise said as they entered the house. "But there's a fully functioning bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and front room. I'm still working on the rest of the house."

"That's fine, Blaise." Draco reassured his friend.

"Thank you Blaise." Hermione said quietly.

"You're welcome." Blaise smiled at Hermione, before turning back to Draco with a serious expression. "I'll keep the island cloaked apart from when I'm coming across and need to dock the boat. I'm not sure how often I'll be visiting, but I suppose that depends on how things progress from here."

"I guess it does." Draco nodded. "But for the foreseeable future I predict plenty of visits."

"So do I, starting with tomorrow." Blaise replied. "It's late now so I'm going to head back to Milan, I'll base myself there so I can keep in touch with Theo. It's easy enough for me to get out here when the need arises. I'll let you two get some rest, but I'll be back tomorrow afternoon and we can get started on working out what we're going to do."

"Do you have a pensieve?" Draco asked, guessing the house they were in wouldn't be equipped with the piece of magical equipment they needed to view Hermione's memories.

"Damn, no I don't." Blaise swore softly. "How are we going to look at Hermione's memories without a pensive?"

"There's one at the Manor." Draco said. "You can access it via the floo network in my wing. It used to be my father's but I keep it in my old bedroom. It's in a safe at the back of the wardrobe, the code to get into the safe is my birthdate."

"Won't I set off the wards?" Blaise questioned.

"You shouldn't if you stick to my wing of the Manor." Draco replied. "If however you see mother let her know everything's okay and I'll be in touch when I can."

"Okay, I'll do that tomorrow morning and I'll be back here tomorrow afternoon." Blaise declared, saying goodbye to the couple.

Draco and Hermione watched from the window as Blaise headed back down to the dock and got into the boat. They then watched the boat as it headed back to the mainland. While the island was cloaked from view there clearly wasn't anything that stopped the view from the island. Draco was rather impressed by that fact, this way he could keep an eye on their surroundings and they would get advance warning of anyone other than Blaise tried to approach them.

"I think it's time we went to bed, it's late." Draco said, when they could no longer see Blaise's boat on the dark sea.

Hermione nodded and let Draco grab the bags as he led the way upstairs. It didn't take long to find the only bedroom with furniture and while Draco slung their bags onto the floor beside the bed, Hermione peered into the en-suite bathroom.

"It looks nice." She said quietly. Any other time she would have loved to have visited the private little island with Draco, but considering the circumstances she wasn't feeling very cheerful.

"Yeah it does." Draco said, coming up behind his girlfriend. "But we'll explore properly tomorrow, for now we need to sleep."

One at a time the couple used the bathroom, before they crawled into bed together. Hermione immediately settled in Draco's arms and the blond held her tightly as she cried herself to sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N - Thanks for all the great reviews, I appreciate them so much. I've decided to up this story to M due to the scene at the end of this chapter. As I've already said the entire story is written and I judged the rating based on what I could remember writing. However, when I was getting this chapter ready I thought the ending could possibly push the boundaries of a T rated story. I would rather push the rating up, just to be cautious, then lose my story over including a scene that's quite possibly considered M. **

* * *

**Chapter Ten.**

Hermione lay curled up on the sofa, trying not to think about what was happening in the kitchen. Just over an hour ago Blaise had shown up with the pensieve, and he and Draco had set it up in the kitchen. Not wanting to relive her wedding day and the morning after Hermione had deposited her memories into the pensieve and left the men to view them without her.

Hermione was still curled up on the sofa a few hours later when Draco and Blaise entered the front room. Draco was carrying two cups of coffee and he handed one to Hermione as he settled down beside her.

"Well. Were they any use to you?" Hermione asked.

"It gave us a good overview of the day." Blaise answered. "That might help us at a later date."

"Do you know if I killed him?" She whispered, not wanting to voice the question but knowing she had to ask.

"You didn't kill him, Hermione." Draco insisted.

"Do you know that for sure or are you just guessing?" Hermione questioned.

"We don't know for sure." Blaise admitted. "Your memories cut off when you passed out. We have no evidence you didn't kill him, but if you did you have absolutely no memory of it."

"I might just be blocking it out." Hermione sighed.

Draco shot Blaise a fierce glare before concentrating on Hermione. "Hermione, you didn't kill him. I don't need evidence to tell me that, I just know. I promise we'll find whoever did kill him to put your mind at rest."

Hermione nodded as she tried to make herself believe Draco's words. She appreciated the faith he was showing in her, but she just couldn't dispel her own nagging doubts. The last few times she'd seen Ron she had genuinely hated him and at least one of those times she had lashed out at him. Deep down she was terrified that they'd had another encounter and he'd pushed her so far she had snapped and done something so terrible she was blocking it out.

"We did find out a couple of things though." Blaise said, feeling bad that he'd placed new doubts in Hermione's mind about her innocence. "Not that they help us much." He added despondently.

"What did you discover?" Hermione asked, pushing her doubts to one side and focusing on the conversation in hand.

"First of all, we think Weasley deliberately staged the conversation about you and me." Draco told his girlfriend. "Why he did it, however isn't as clear."

"What makes you think he staged it?" Hermione frowned.

"Sitting behind you, but hidden by the bushes, were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan." Blaise explained. "They had to have heard the conversation."

"Why, though?" Hermione asked, still not grasping the logic behind Ron making sure someone overheard them. "It makes no sense."

"No, it doesn't." Draco admitted with a frown. "But I'll bet you anything that Weasley knew Thomas and Finnegan were there. For some reason he wanted people to think we were having an affair."

"Not that we can work out why he wanted them to know." Blaise added. "Why would Weasley want people knowing about the pair of you?"

"Who knows?" Draco shrugged.

"What else did you discover?" Hermione remembered Blaise saying they had discovered a couple of things and she thought it was best they moved away from trying to figure out what Ron had been playing at, they could think about it all day and still have no clue as to what he was thinking.

"We're not sure, but we think we know why you can't remember the events of that night." Draco said. "We think you were drugged."

"What? How?"

"The champagne Weasley brought to the room." Blaise said. "It was already open when he brought it up, that's very suspicious. Then when you started to drink it you slowly got more and more drowsy, until you passed out."

"We think he only meant for you to have a few glasses, just enough so that you wouldn't fight him." Draco said, fury blazing in his grey eyes as he thought about why Weasley wanted Hermione slightly out of it.

Hermione's eyes widened as she understood what Draco was saying. Ron had promised her he would be taking her to bed so it made sense he would try and make it as easy as possible for himself. In her normal state she would have fought him like crazy, but if she was drugged she wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Do you think it worked?" She asked.

"I don't know." Draco replied quietly. He hated thinking that Weasley had touched Hermione, but he knew it was a possibility.

Hermione sat quietly as she tried to remember the morning she woke up next to Ron's body. She certainly couldn't remember feeling sore or sensitive, well apart from her head which was thumping like crazy. The rest of her body had felt fine, not at all like she'd had sex of any sort. However there was the fact that she had woken up wearing a nightgown she hadn't seen before. Whatever had happen, someone had undressed her and redressed her in the nightwear.

"Is it very possible that when you passed out you didn't awaken until morning." Blaise said, deciding to try and alleviate some of Hermione's worries.

"I hope that's the case." Hermione sighed, knowing she couldn't have killed Ron if she was unconscious.

* * *

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling nervously as she waited for Draco to emerge from the bathroom. Ever since Draco and Blaise had been in the pensieve Hermione had been worrying over the consequences of what might have happened to her. Even though she and Draco had discussed things before her marriage she was still concerned that he might not want her now Ron had possibly touched her. She'd done a pregnancy test, which came back negative, but that wasn't definitive proof that Ron hadn't violated her.

When Draco re-entered the bedroom a few minutes later he gave Hermione a curious look. When he'd headed into the bathroom his girlfriend had been nearly ready for bed and he had expected her to be settled under the silk sheets when he returned.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" He asked.

"Can we talk?" Hermione practically whispered her question, even though she knew they needed to talk she didn't want to actually have the potentially awkward conversation.

"Of course." Draco nodded as he got into bed and pulled back the covers for Hermione to join him. "Get in and we can talk."

Hermione crawled into bed with Draco and let the blond wrap his arm around her. Snuggling into his warm body she closed her eyes briefly, not wanting to bring up the thoughts that had been haunting her since Blaise's departure a few hours earlier.

Draco let Hermione lie in silence for a few minutes, before speaking. "What's on your mind, Hermione?"

"Ron." Hermione whispered.

"What about Weasley?" Draco asked, tensing up at the mention of the redhead.

Bracing herself for the awkward conversation that would follow Hermione sat up and turned so she was facing Draco. "What happens if he did do something to me?"

"You mean, what if he raped you." Draco said, forcing the words from his mouth.

Hermione nodded. "Would it change anything between us?"

"No." Draco replied instantaneously. "It doesn't matter what he did, I love you and nothing will ever change that."

"You say that now, but what happens if we find out he did." Hermione said. "Will you still want to be with me, knowing he's been there?"

"The thought of him touching you makes me feel sick." Draco admitted. "Even more so considering if he did do it, you weren't even awake. But I will not let that bastard ruin what we have based on the possibility of what he might have done."

"I just want to know if he did do it." Hermione whispered in a cracked voice. "I hate not knowing. Something tells me he didn't actually rape me, but someone changed my clothes. If it was him he's seen me naked and in all likelihood had a good feel. And I hate not knowing, because there's always going to be this niggling doubt in the back of my head."

As she finished speaking Hermione broke down in tears. Draco immediately pulled her into his arms, soothing her as he tried to contain his own emotions. Seeing Hermione in such a state was affecting him deeply, but he needed to be strong for his girlfriend.

"I wish I knew how to help you." Draco said, stroking Hermione's hair as he held her. "But we need to accept that we might never know the truth."

"You're helping me by just being here." Hermione whispered as her tears started to dry up.

"And I always will be here for you." Draco reassured his girlfriend. "I love you."

Hermione looked up at Draco with tear filled eyes. "I love you too."

Draco smiled at Hermione as he brushed away a few stray tears from her cheek. Leaning down he gently brushed his lips against Hermione's. When he started to pull away Hermione pulled his back towards her and deepened the kiss.

"I want you, Draco." She whispered as they parted for air.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, studying Hermione carefully.

Nothing had happened between them the previous night, but Draco didn't want them rushing into anything and Hermione regretting things later on. Hermione had been through so much in the last few days and Draco didn't want to push her into anything.

"I'm sure." Hermione nodded, trailing her hand down Draco's bare chest. "I don't want Ron to ruin things between us."

"He could never do that." Draco said softly. "He was an insignificant worm and nothing he ever did could affect the way we feel about each other."

"Do you promise?" Hermione asked, uncertainty clear in her eyes.

"I promise." Draco said, lowering his lips to Hermione's.

Draco kept the kiss short and sweet and when he moved away from her lips he started placing gentle kisses down Hermione's neck. Hermione sighed contentedly as she lost herself to Draco's touch, letting him slowly undress her from the pyjama's she was wearing.

With every inch of skin he uncovered Draco lavished attention on Hermione's body, kissing and caressing everywhere he could reach. Eventually Hermione was left in just her knickers and Draco eased them down her legs slowly, taking the time to kiss her legs as he did so. Once the silky material was disposed of Draco kissed his way back up Hermione's legs, settling himself at her aching centre.

After being teased for so long Hermione moaned loudly and bucked her hips towards Draco the second he touched her. Draco chuckled at Hermione's actions and used his left hand to hold her hips down as he set about pleasuring the witch he loved. Hermione's moaning and whimpering got gradually louder, until suddenly she arched off the bed as her climax hit her hard.

Draco continued to kiss and caress Hermione through her orgasm, before settling beside her as she finished recovering. After a few minutes Hermione opened her eyes and turned her head to face Draco. Draco smiled at the satisfied expression on her face as he leant over and connected their lips.

As they kissed Hermione's hands travelled down Draco's torso and pushed at his pyjama bottoms. Together the couple wriggled Draco out of his bottoms and the second they were off Hermione had her hand wrapped firmly around his erection. Draco moaned as Hermione's hand stroked him just the way he liked.

"Stop." He gasped after a few minutes, pulling Hermione's hand away from him.

Hermione pouted at the removal of her hand, causing Draco to chuckle softly at her. Reconnecting their lips he rolled them over, pinning Hermione to the bed underneath him.

"I want to be inside you." He said, aligning himself at her entrance.

Hermione's eyes lit up at the confession and she pulled Draco down into a heated kiss. "I want that too." She mumbled against his lips.

Draco smiled into the kiss as he rolled his hips and buried himself deep inside his girlfriend. Simultaneous moans sounded from the couple as they were joined together in the most intimate way. As the pair found their rhythm and began to move effortlessly together, they forgot all about Ron and their problems. They were still in a mess and still had to find a way to clear Hermione's name, but right now all that mattered was each other.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven.**

After Blaise's visit with the pensieve he didn't return for another three days and when he did return he had Theo with him. Hermione let the three boys catch up while she made some lunch. As they settled down to eat the conversation turned to the reason Theo was visiting, to keep them up to date with news back home.

"Is it bad?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty bad, yeah." Theo nodded, grimacing as he thought of the horrific headlines and the articles that painted Hermione as a monster. "I've got copies of all the papers, but you don't have to look at them."

"No, I want to." Hermione said, knowing she had to face up to what was being said about her.

"Let's finish lunch first." Draco suggested, not wanting to get the papers out while they were eating.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and the situation they were in wasn't mentioned for the remainder of the meal. However the second they finished eating Hermione cleared the plates away while Theo grabbed the stack of papers from his bag and placed them on the kitchen table.

"Are you sure about this?" Draco asked Hermione as she eyed the newspapers warily. "You don't have to read them."

"Yes, I do." Hermione replied determinedly.

The next hour and a half passed by in silence as Hermione and Draco ploughed through the stack of papers Theo had brought with him. It was very clear from what they read that Hermione was the Aurors only suspect and on several occasions they only just stopped short of actually calling her guilty. Draco had also been dragged into things as word had quickly spread that he was involved with Hermione. The fact he hadn't been seen since before the wedding hadn't gone unnoticed and he was just as much wanted by the Aurors as Hermione was.

"This is not looking good." Hermione announced as she threw the last of the papers back onto the table. Her guilt seemed like a forgone conclusion and Hermione knew if the Aurors ever caught her she'd be thrown in Azkaban without question and after some of the hateful articles she'd read she knew she would never get a fair trial.

"No, it's not." Theo agreed. "The Aurors and the press have made their minds up about you. Everyone thinks you're guilty."

"Not everyone." Draco said, wrapping his arm around Hermione. "I know Hermione's innocent, I just need you two to prove it."

"How are we going to do that?" Blaise questioned. "Don't get me wrong I want to prove Hermione's innocence as much as you, I just don't see how we can achieve it."

"If you look at this logically there's three explanations. The one the Aurors, and everyone else, have chosen to believe is that Hermione killed Weasley and fled to avoid capture." Draco said. "We know that's not true, so we're left with the other two options."

"Which are?" Blaise questioned.

"First, someone is trying to frame Hermione for some reason. They've killed her husband, not knowing the real situation, and set her up to take the fall." Draco answered. "And second is my personal choice, someone killed Weasley and just used Hermione's drugged state to frame her."

"That second option sounds pretty plausible." Blaise nodded thoughtfully. "Weasley was an Auror, he'll have dozens of enemies."

"There's plenty of people to choose from." Theo laughed bitterly. "Azkaban is full of people vowing vengeance on the people that put them there."

"Surely we can rule out people in prison." Hermione said. "They're locked up, they can't have killed Ron."

"Just because they couldn't have done it in person doesn't mean they can't be behind it." Theo told the witch. "A lot of people in Azkaban still have solid connections to the outside world and if they really wanted Weasley dead, they could achieve it."

"Before we start jumping to conclusions, we need to check out Weasley's life in greater detail. We need to know everything about him." Draco said, taking charge of the meeting. "We also need a list of anyone who might hold a grudge against him."

"Theo and I can do that." Blaise reassured Draco. "Give us a few days and we'll have a complete picture of Weasley's life."

"Thank guys, we appreciate it." Draco smiled at his two best friends, grateful for everything they were doing for him and Hermione.

"Don't put yourselves in any danger though." Hermione warned the duo, knowing that like Draco they both had a bit of a reckless streak. "I don't want either of you getting arrested or anything."

"Don't worry about us Hermione, we're Slytherins. We're used to being sneaky and getting away with things." Blaise grinned at Hermione.

"Just be careful." Hermione insisted, smiling softly at Blaise's confidence.

"We will." Theo reassured her. "I promise."

Hermione smiled gratefully at Theo. She knew Blaise was actually taking the situation seriously but she appreciated Theo's reassurance that they would be careful.

"We should be off." Blaise announced as him and Theo stood up. "I need to be getting back to Milan and Theo should be heading back home."

"Yeah, I told Daphne I would be home for dinner." Theo said.

"Thanks again." Draco told his friends. "Hopefully we'll be seeing you soon."

"Hopefully with something that will help." Blaise remarked as the foursome left the house and wandered down to the dock.

At the dock Blaise and Theo jumped into the boat and promising to keep Draco and Hermione updated they sped off back to the mainland. Draco and Hermione stood watching the boat for several minutes before turning back to the house.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Hermione asked, stopping Draco as he began to head up towards the house.

"Sure." Draco nodded and turned back towards Hermione.

Hand in hand the couple set off along the beach, discussing what was going to happen next. It was hard for both of them to remain on the island and let other people do the investigating for them but it was their only choice. They would just have to trust that Blaise and Theo could discover something crucial that could help prove Hermione's innocence.

* * *

Theo sighed in relief as he neared the bottom of his stack of newspapers. It had been five days since he and Blaise had agreed to help poke around in Weasley's life but he hadn't expected it to be so tedious. Blaise had immediately announced he would look into Weasley's private life, meaning Theo was stuck looking into cases he had worked on as an Auror.

Obviously Theo had no access to official Ministry documents so he was having to make do with scouring the newspapers for mentions of Weasley's cases. Luckily with his connection to Potter and the part he played in the war his career was widely reported on in the press. Unluckily he'd been involved in a lot of cases, meaning Theo's list of potential suspects was pretty long.

Looking at the long list in front of him, Theo could only hope Blaise had something a bit more solid to go on. It would take months to investigate everyone on his list, not to mention the friends and family of the people Weasley had been responsible for incarcerating. However the previous day he'd seen Blaise and his friend had hinted that he was onto something, Theo just hoped for everyone's sake he was right.

"Theo." Daphne Greengrass, Theo's fiancée, called as she entered his study. "Dinner's nearly ready. You need to go and get changed before Pansy arrives."

"Why is Pansy coming for dinner?" Theo grimaced. He wasn't fond of Pansy Parkinson, a witch they went to school with, but she was a good friend of Daphne's so he often had to tolerate her.

"Because I invited her." Daphne replied, glaring at Theo. "Now go and get dressed, and don't be rude tonight."

Sighing Theo packed up his work and locked it in his desk. It wasn't that he didn't trust Daphne with what he was doing, he just wanted to keep her out of things in case anything went wrong. The Aurors had already visited him asking about Draco and if they returned he didn't want Daphne to have to lie to them as well. Luckily he was a fairly good liar and had claimed not have seen Draco since just before the wedding, but Daphne wasn't such a believable liar and would soon end up tripping herself up if she knew anything.

Once everything was packed away Theo headed upstairs to get changed. Just as he was coming down the stairs there was a knock on the door and Daphne let Pansy into the house. Greeting Pansy in a friendly manner, Theo led the way into the dining room and poured drinks for everyone as Daphne sorted the food.

Over dinner Theo's conversational skills weren't needed as the two witches were quite happy to talk to each other. Pansy happily chatted about her shop and the new pieces of jewellery she was making while Daphne was more than happy to talk about the wedding plans she was just starting to make. However after dinner the trio headed into the front room and they were no sooner seated then Pansy brought up Draco.

"Isn't it awful what's happening with Draco?" She gushed. "Can you believe he's gotten himself involved with a killer?"

"We don't know she killed him, Pansy." Daphne tutted at her friend. "The Hermione Granger I know would never kill anyone."

"Look at the facts, Daph." Pansy argued. "Her husband was found dead in their bed, his face beaten to a pulp and she was nowhere to be found. Clearly she's as guilty as sin."

Theo frowned at Pansy's words, something she had said didn't sit right with him, but before he had a chance to work out what it was she was speaking to him.

"Sorry, what did you say Pansy?" Theo asked, not quite hearing what Pansy had asked him.

"I asked if you've heard anything from Draco." Pansy said. "I've tried getting in touch with him, but I'm getting nowhere. I know all the papers reckon he's hiding Granger, but if he is I'm worried that he's not safe with her."

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's safe." Theo reassured Pansy.

"Do you know where he is?" Pansy asked, scrutinising Theo closely.

"Not a clue." Theo sighed, feigning ignorance. "I actually saw him the weekend of the wedding, but he said he wanted to be alone so Blaise and I left him to wallow in his misery."

"You knew about him and Granger?" Pansy asked in surprise.

"Yes." Theo nodded. "He'd brought her over for dinner a few times."

"She always seemed so nice." Daphne sighed wistfully. She'd only met Hermione a few times but she had really liked her. "I thought she and Draco were the real thing, I was so shocked to hear she was marrying someone else."

"Weren't we all?" Theo said.

"I can't believe you knew about them and didn't tell me." Pansy huffed. She'd only found out about the relationship by accident when she'd visited Draco's flat one night and spotted them together, she had no idea they had been telling some people about their relationship.

"It wasn't our place to tell." Daphne told her friend. "Draco and Hermione were keeping it quiet for their own reasons."

"Yeah, you know Lucius would never have approved. Even from Azkaban he could have been a problem for them." Theo said. "Not to mention Hermione's friends and how they would have reacted to her being with Draco."

"I guess." Pansy shrugged, inwardly smirking as she thought of how Ron had reacted when she'd told him of their relationship. To be honest she could understand why they wanted to keep their relationship quiet if Ron's reaction was anything to go off. "He still could have told me though." She pouted. "I'm his friend, I could have kept the secret."

Theo snorted quietly, but didn't say anything. He knew that Draco hadn't told Pansy because he didn't trust her. Pansy may have accepted she wasn't ever going to get Draco for herself, but she was still so obsessed with him that she would have hated to see him happy with Hermione. Draco had feared she would become vindictive if she knew the truth and reveal his relationship to Lucius.

As Daphne expertly changed the subject, Theo sat and pondered on what had bothered him earlier. However he couldn't find anything amiss as he replayed the conversation in his head. If there was something it would likely come to him later, when he wasn't trying to force the issue. For now he pushed the previous conversation to one side and joined in on the girl's current conversation.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve.**

Sitting on the dock of the small island, Hermione looked out across the calm blue sea. Her shoes were sitting beside her as her feet trailed in the refreshing water. Despite the peacefulness of her surroundings Hermione's emotions and thoughts were whirling around inside her head. It had been a week since Blaise and Theo agreed to help them, but so far Draco's friends hadn't been heard from. Hermione knew the two wizards would be trying their best but the longer they were away the more she was worrying.

"Can I join you?"

Hermione whirled round at Draco's voice, not having heard her boyfriend approaching. Nodding in reply she watched as Draco took off his shoes before settling down beside, letting his own feet trail in the water.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I guess." Hermione shrugged. "I'm just thinking about Blaise and Theo and if they've found anything that could be of any help to us."

"They should be visiting soon." Draco replied. "At least I hope they will be."

"What happens if they've found nothing?" Hermione questioned. "I think we need to discuss what we're going to do if that happens."

"We can talk about that after they've next visited." Draco said. "But I guess if they can't find anything we'll have to think about leaving. If we can't prove your innocence we'll have to run properly."

"Maybe we should have just done that in the first place." Hermione sighed, remembering how keen Draco had been on the idea of running months ago.

"No, we were right to stay." Draco told his girlfriend. "All your reasons for not wanting to run were valid. We were giving ourselves the best chance of being together in the way we wanted."

"It looks like Ron's still managed to ruin my life." Hermione said sadly, thinking of everything they wouldn't be able to have if they had to run. "If Blaise and Theo can't help us, we'll be spending the rest of our lives as fugitives with no chance of having a family."

Draco put his arm around Hermione and pulled her into his side, hoping they wouldn't have to run. "At least we'll have each other." He said, dropping a kiss to the top of Hermione's head.

"That's what's keeping me going." Hermione whispered. "I couldn't do this without you."

Draco hugged Hermione closer as the couple lapsed into silence. For nearly half an hour they sat quietly on the dock, each lost in their own thoughts. The couple had just stood up to return to the house when Hermione suddenly spotted a boat in the distance.

"Is it Blaise?" She asked.

"I don't know." Draco squinted at the boat but it was too far away for him to see if it was his best friend. "But it's better to be safe than sorry. Do you have your wand?"

Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand from the small bag she had slung around her neck. Draco also pulled out his wand from his pocket and the couple stood on the dock, watching the boat get closer. Despite not using magic since arriving in Italy they both carried their wands with them permanently in case they needed to get away from the island in a hurry.

Draco took hold of Hermione's hand in case they did have to leave, but after a few minutes he loosened his grip and put his wand back in his pocket. "It's Blaise. I recognise the boat."

A few minutes later Hermione could also make the boat out clearly enough to recognise it. As the boat drew even closer Hermione could see that both Theo and Blaise were in the boat. Hermione and Draco waited on the dock as his friends brought the boat into land. Draco helped Blaise and Theo tie the boat up and once the duo were on solid ground the foursome headed back to the house.

Once back at the house Hermione made drinks for everyone, before they settled in the front room. Blaise and Theo had obviously came with their initial findings, but Hermione was finding it hard to decide if they brought good news, bad news or no news.

"Have you got anything?" Draco asked his friends.

"Not much." Theo admitted.

"I have discovered a few intriguing things, but nothing that tells us who killed Weasley." Blaise interrupted. "Sorry, Hermione." He added, throwing Hermione a sad smile.

"Why don't you tell us what you do know." Draco said, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"I'll go first." Theo said. "I've done the best I can to work out who might hold a grudge against Weasley because of his Auror work. The list might not be complete, but without official records it's the best I can do."

"We appreciate anything you've done." Hermione smiled at Theo as he produced a couple of sheets of parchment.

"Here's a copy of the list." He said, handing it over to Draco. "I reckon the people on the first sheet are more likely to be involved. These are the people who could potentially harbour massive grudges. A lot of them are serving life sentences in Azkaban, a few were pretty badly injured as they resisted arrest and a couple are even dead by Weasley's hand."

"We do need to consider friends and family members." Draco said, scanning the list Theo had given him. "That could complicate matters somewhat."

"I've started making some inquiries, but looking into everyone with a potential grudge is going to be a long job." Theo said.

"I can help." Blaise offered. "I think I've just about exhausted Weasley's private life."

"Have you found anything useful?" Draco asked.

"Not necessarily useful, but it's definitely intriguing." Blaise responded.

"Well stop teasing us and start talking." Draco snapped, losing patience with his friend.

Blaise looked apologetically at Draco before he began to talk. "Well firstly his private life was sorely lacking. He spent most of his time working and when he wasn't working he had the odd one night stand, but those ended six months earlier when he approached Hermione."

"Keeping up with the pretence." Draco sneered. "He couldn't be seen bedding other witches if he was engaged to Hermione."

"My thoughts exactly." Blaise nodded. "I did look into a few of these women he bedded, but none of them held any grudges. They all knew it was fling and no-one was upset when it was announced he was marrying Hermione."

"Okay, so a jealous ex is off the cards." Theo said. "What else did you find?"

"When I couldn't find anything in his past, I started to look into his last movements." Blaise explained. "I visited the hotel that the wedding was held at and got talking to a disgruntled employee. Apparently since the wedding there's been a load of lost jobs as the hotel tried to claw back the money it lost."

"How did the hotel lose money?" Draco frowned. "I know having a dead groom isn't exactly a glowing testament to its services, but there'll be plenty of ghouls who would go and visit just because of the murder."

"The hotel was actually fully booked, but they lost a lot of money due to the actual wedding. Weasley ordered the best and most expensive wedding package, but he hadn't paid for it. According to the girl I spoke to when he booked the wedding he charmed the owner, claiming he would ensure the hotel received plenty of free publicity and glowing reviews for hosting the wedding."

"Are you saying the hotel didn't charge Weasley?" Theo asked in disbelief.

"No, they charged him full price." Blaise responded. "But with the sweet talk of publicity he got them to agree to wait for the final payment until after the honeymoon. What he actually paid was a measly deposit, far less than they usually ask for."

"So he would have been in debt if he'd lived." Draco concluded.

"Yes, and not just with the hotel. He made the same deal with the boutique that made Hermione's dress. He promised them free publicity in exchange for a tiny deposit and an agreement that he would pay the rest after the honeymoon." Blaise explained.

"How did he work that?" Theo asked. "Surely the dress had nothing to do with him."

"He organised everything, including the dress." Hermione told Theo. "He told me where to go to get a dress, in fact he insisted that was where my dress should come from. Since I wasn't bothered I did as he said and picked a dress from there."

"This is starting to sound suspicious." Draco narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Why would Weasley wrack up so much debt? He could have created a convincing wedding without going to such expense."

"That's what I thought, so I continued to dig." Blaise said. "A week before the wedding he secured a deal with one of the glossy high end magazines for exclusive rights to the wedding pictures and access to the event itself."

"Tell me about it, those creeps were everywhere." Hermione shuddered as she remembered the amount of pictures they had to pose for. "Chances are at least one of the photographers have a picture of me slapping Ron."

"They have, it was in the papers over the weekend." Theo said. "The pictures had just been handed back to the photographers after the Aurors had done looking at them. Clearly the first thing the photographer did was sell the picture on to make some money."

"Talking of money, can we return to my original point?" Blaise snapped, glaring at Theo who promptly shut his mouth and slunk back in his chair. "Anyway as I was saying Weasley signed a big contract with the magazine, but he insisted they paid him in full before the event."

"Let's guess, they paid him a fair bit." Draco remarked.

"Nearly a quarter of a million galleons."

"Bloody hell." Theo whistled lowly. "That's a lot of money."

"Yes, it is." Draco said quietly. "But there was massive interest in the wedding of the two war heroes. Exclusive access to the actual day would have boosted their sales substantially."

Blaise nodded, before continuing yet again. "By this point I was highly suspicious, then fate handed me another piece of the puzzle. I'll not bore you with the details but I like a good gamble and I frequent this little gambling club in London. Once upon a time it was pure bloods only, but the war changed things and now everyone's welcome, including goblins."

"Goblins." Hermione exclaimed, looking at Blaise in shock. "You gamble with goblins."

"I'll gamble with anyone foolish enough to part with their money." Blaise shrugged, a smirk playing around his lips. "Anyway this goblin had a bit too much to drink and he started to get chatty about his work at Gringotts and complaining about wizards in general. During his rant about ungrateful people he mentioned Weasley, so I poured a bit more firewhisky down his neck and got him to tell me what he knew."

"What did he know?" Draco asked, getting exasperated with Blaise's long winded tale.

"Patience, Draco." Blaise tutted. "I'm getting to it. Anyway after a few hours drinking the goblin told me that over the last six months Weasley's been slowly emptying his bank account. Apparently he had a decent stash in his account, but now there's a few galleons left."

"Where did Weasley get a decent stash of cash?" Theo asked. "I thought his family was pretty badly off."

"After the war the Ministry gave myself, Harry and Ron a substantial lump sum for our help defeating Voldemort." Hermione replied. "I know Ron put the majority of his money in Gringotts, he spent a bit but wanted some savings to fall back on."

"I think what's more important than where he got the money, is why did he take it all out?" Draco mused. "What was Weasley planning?"

"I've got a theory." Blaise said. "When I heard he'd withdrawn all his money I decided to do a bit more digging. I discovered that he hadn't booked a honeymoon."

"But he said we were going to Australia." Hermione told Blaise. "The Quidditch World Cup is taking place and he reckoned he had tickets for several matches."

"I've checked, he doesn't. And I can't find any hotel reservations in Australia or an international port key booking." Blaise replied. "Wherever he was planning on taking you, it wasn't Australia."

"The sneaky bastard." Draco swore. "That was why he engineered the conversation about me where people would hear."

"I don't understand. What does that have to do with anything?" Theo asked. He knew about the conversation Weasley had staged with Hermione, but he failed to understand how it fit into this recent development.

"He was going to take me away and never come back." Hermione whispered, shaking as she realised how close she had come to losing Draco for good. "That's why he was taking all of his money, so we could just disappear."

"Probably." Blaise nodded, agreeing with Hermione. Her conclusion was the one he had come to straight away. "Then once you were gone he would have messed with your memories or done something to keep you with him."

"And when he sent word to say you weren't returning, Thomas and Finnegan could pop up and mention me." Draco added.

"I get it." Theo exclaimed. "With that conversation he could claim they were leaving to get away from you and to end the affair for good."

"Exactly." Blaise replied. "Of course we have no proof of that, and it doesn't exactly help us with finding his killer."

"No, it doesn't." Hermione sighed. "It just proves that in the end I had a lucky escape. If Ron hadn't been killed I'd be god knows where now completely at his mercy."

"Luckily that didn't happen." Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione as he moved closer to her on the sofa. "But we still need to try and find something that could help us."

"I think our best bet is to work on the list Theo's drawn up." Blaise remarked. "Together the pair of us should be able to make some headway."

"I hope so, because we need to start thinking of alternatives if this investigation is going to drag on. As much as we appreciate your hospitality Blaise, we can't stay here indefinitely." Draco said.

"I know, but give us another week before we think about the pair of you moving on." Blaise replied. "For now you're completely safe on the island."

Draco nodded and agreed to give his friends another week before he started to look into leaving. If there was still no progress in a week's time they would have to face the possibility of it being a long investigation and if that was the case Draco wanted to be somewhere where he had access to magic and money.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen.**

The sun was just rising when Draco was awoken by Hermione's wriggling form beside him. When he first opened his eyes he wasn't sure what had woken him, but when Hermione whimpered in her sleep he realised what was happening. Ever since the wedding, Hermione had been tormented by nightmares and very few nights passed without their night been disturbed. Pulling Hermione into his arms, Draco stroked her hair until she calmed down. Once the nightmare had subsided, Draco continued to hold Hermione as she slept. Hermione slept peacefully for another hour before she began to stir in Draco's arms.

"Hey." Hermione said sleepily. "Did I wake you, again?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind." Draco replied, brushing Hermione's hair out of her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Hermione nodded.

She couldn't remember dreaming, but she figured it would be the same as all the rest. Hermione's dreams usually played out in the same way, with the first part happening exactly as had occurred. She woke up covered in blood and Ron was lying beside her dead, but before she had a chance to work out what was happening and get away the Aurors burst into the room and she was arrested. Sometimes the dreams stopped there but other times the dreams continued and she was thrown into Azkaban, with the threat that she would never see the light of day again.

"Do you want to get up and have breakfast?" Draco asked, drawing Hermione away from thoughts about her nightmares. "Or I could go and grab something and we can have breakfast in bed."

"Let's just stay here for a bit." Hermione suggested. "Maybe we can work up an appetite."

Draco grinned at Hermione, before dropping his lips to hers. While his tongue plunged into her mouth his hands slipped under the covers, pushing at the silk material of her night wear. Draco slipped Hermione's nightie over her hips, caressing her bare skin as he did so. Hermione moaned into Draco's mouth as she let her own hands begin to wander over Draco's body. Trailing her hands down his firm torso, she reached the waistband of his pyjama bottoms and eased them down.

Briefly breaking the kiss Draco kicked his pyjama bottoms off and whipped Hermione's nightie off. Once the couple were naked Draco pulled Hermione's leg over his hip and eased inside her. Hermione moaned quietly and pressed herself closer to Draco, capturing his lips with her own. After a few minutes Draco rolled Hermione onto her back as he began to make love to her.

Draco and Hermione moved together perfectly in sync, each knowing what the other one liked. The couple kept eye contact throughout the whole thing as they slowly built towards their climaxes. When they did reach completion they exploded almost simultaneously, before collapsing back onto the bed in a tangle.

Eventually the couple detangled themselves and got up. After having a shower together, which led to a second more heated round of sex, they got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. While the couple were sitting at the kitchen table, Draco glanced out of the window and spotted Blaise and Theo arriving on the boat.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked her boyfriend. She couldn't see out of the window from her seat to see what Draco was frowning at.

"Blaise and Theo are here." Draco answered.

"They were only here yesterday." Hermione jumped up and moved to the window, where she spotted Blaise bringing the boat into the dock. "Do you think they have good news?"

"I don't know." Draco muttered. As much as he wanted his friends to be bringing good news he found it hard to believe they would have found something vital in less than twenty four hours.

At they watched Blaise and Theo disembark from the boat, Draco tried to spot what expressions his friends were wearing. At first they were too far away but even once they got nearer Draco still couldn't decide if they were bringing good or bad news. He still hadn't decided which it was when the two wizards entered the kitchen.

"Hi, guys. Do either of you want a drink or something to eat?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, please." Blaise replied. "I'm starving. I was just settling down for my breakfast when Theo arrived and insisted we come over."

"Does this mean you have some news?" Draco asked Theo as Hermione made a fresh pot of coffee and handed Blaise a plate of scrambled eggs.

"Yes, well I think so." Theo said, sitting down at the kitchen table and grabbing a slice of toast. "You see I was in bed, and Pansy suddenly popped into my head."

"I don't think we need to know about your sexual fantasies." Blaise interrupted with a grimace. "Especially ones involving Pansy. I mean, why would you think about her when you have a beauty like Daphne."

"I wasn't thinking about her in a sexual way." Theo retorted, glaring at Blaise. "Daphne had just gotten up and as I was lying watching her, I suddenly remembered a recent conversation with Pansy. A few days ago she had dinner with us and she said something that bugged me."

"That's nothing new." Blaise snorted. "Everything Pansy says bugs someone."

"It wasn't just her being annoying." Theo said sharply, getting sick of the interruptions. "We were talking about Draco and Hermione and she said something that struck me as odd, but at the time I couldn't work out what it was. Anyway this morning it suddenly hit me, she mentioned Weasley's face had been bashed in."

"So?" Blaise asked, not understanding the significance of Pansy's words.

"That wasn't in any of the newspaper reports." Draco answered. He and Hermione had looked at the papers that Theo had brought numerous times and they had discussed the fact that the exact nature of Weasley's demise hadn't been released, all the reports merely said he was found dead in the honeymoon suite and he'd been killed with the killing curse.

"Unless of course it's been mentioned in the newest editions." Hermione added.

"It hasn't, I checked." Theo replied. "I've scoured every newspaper report and nowhere does it say Weasley had his face caved in."

"So how does Pansy know that?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know." Theo shrugged. "But it's suspicious. No-one else seems to know that detail, apart from us, the Aurors and I'm assuming Weasley's family."

"I can think of someone else who knows." Draco said quietly. "The killer."

"You think Pansy killed Ron?" Hermione questioned her boyfriend.

"I don't know, but that would be one way to explain how she knows about the state he was in." Draco replied. He didn't like to believe Pansy could be the killer and he could see no motive for her bumping Weasley off, but Theo was right, her words were suspicious.

"Either that or she knows who did kill him." Blaise suggested. He couldn't picture Pansy as a killer but he could definitely see her colluding with someone to kill Weasley and set Hermione up.

"Why would Pansy get involved in this?" Hermione asked. She didn't really know Pansy as she hadn't seen her since school, but her motives in being involved seemed unclear.

"Maybe she wanted Draco for herself." Theo suggested. "We all know she's madly in love with him."

"How would killing Ron achieve that?" Hermione questioned.

"Besides, she knows she doesn't stand a chance with me. I've made it clear that nothing will ever happen between us." Draco added.

"You know how stubborn Pansy is, she might assume with Hermione out of the way she could stand a chance." Blaise said, warming to his idea that setting up Hermione was the real motive behind Weasley's murder. "I think we've been looking at this the wrong way. Weasley was just collateral, the real target was Hermione and getting her sent to Azkaban."

"First of all for that to work, she would have to know about Hermione and she didn't." Draco argued, spotting a flaw in Blaise's theory.

"How do we know that she didn't know?" Theo questioned. "Just because you didn't tell her, doesn't mean she hadn't picked up on it."

"Theo's right, while we didn't advertise our relationship we weren't always the most secretive." Hermione said to Draco. "I often visited you and just entered the building from the ground floor, and we did used to eat out in a couple of small places near to your penthouse."

"True." Draco nodded his head thoughtfully. "I guess it is possible she knows about us. But would she really kill Weasley just to get Hermione sent to Azkaban? I mean how could she even be sure it worked?"

"I don't suppose she could be sure, but I was certainly well set up. All the evidence in the room pointed towards me, even without the fight earlier in the day I still would have looked guilty." Hermione pointed out.

"I'm still not convinced that Pansy is behind this, but I do think we need to know what she knows." Draco said. "We might be completely wrong here, but it's all we've got and I say we investigate things further."

"How are we going to get Pansy to talk?" Blaise asked. "If she is involved she'd hardly going to admit it."

"We need to either trick her into confessing or corner her and force the truth out of her." Draco replied.

"How about we accidentally let it slip where you are." Theo suggested. "She won't be able to resist coming to find you."

"What if she just sends the Aurors?" Hermione questioned worriedly. "If she wants me in Azkaban, she might just tell them where we are."

"Firstly we're not going to tell her you're here. I was thinking we could say you were in Blaise's villa on the mainland." Theo said. "And I also thought we could imply you were getting ready to leave and we didn't know where you were going. If she wasn't sure if you might have already left, she wouldn't risk sending the Aurors. Even if she does call them, I'm betting she'll want to make sure you are actually there first."

"Theo's plan actually makes a bit of sense." Draco said. "I say we at least try it. If she sends the Aurors and doesn't show up, we won't be there. If she does show up, we'll have the chance to find out if she knows anything."

"How are we going to let her know where you are?" Blaise asked. "Surely she'll get suspicious if we just casually announce where you're hiding."

Draco thought for a couple of minutes, before a solution came to him. "Theo, you and Daphne can ask her around for dinner and when she's there Blaise can show up needing to talk. Make sure you act all secretive and arouse her interest. You know Pansy, she won't be able to resist listening in on your conversation."

"And the conversation will go something like me confiding in Theo that I've been hiding you two, but you're getting ready to move on." Blaise grinned, looking forward to the upcoming subterfuge.

"Exactly." Draco nodded, smiling at Blaise's obvious enthusiasm. "Give her the bait, then we just sit back and wait to see if she bites."

"What do we do if nothing happens?" Hermione asked. "What if she doesn't show up or she doesn't send the Aurors?"

"Then we'll have to find another way to find out what she knows." Draco said.

He already had another idea in his head, but he wasn't planning on telling Hermione what it was just yet. If Pansy failed to fall into their trap he was going to go and pay her a visit and force her to tell him what she knew. Although hopefully that wouldn't be necessary and she would walk into the trap they were currently discussing and perfecting.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen.**

Theo poured the drinks slowly, wondering when Blaise was going to show up. Theo had talked to Daphne and managed to convince her that inviting Pansy over for dinner was her idea. Now he was stuck spending his Friday evening listening to Pansy and Daphne gossiping about various girly things. Throughout dinner he tuned out the conversation as he mentally ran over the plan one last time, but now he was starting to worry that Blaise wasn't going to show. If his friend didn't show up soon, Pansy would be leaving and they would have to try this tactic again.

Just as Theo was handing the girls a drink the front doorbell rang. Theo silently breathed a huge sigh of relief as he headed to answer the door. The second he answered the door, Blaise bounded into the house and headed straight for the front room.

"Theo I need to talk to you urgently." He declared, stopping when he spotted Daphne and Pansy sitting in the front room. "Daphne, Pansy, sorry to interrupt but I need to speak to Theo."

"Do you want a drink?" Theo asked, entering the room behind Blaise.

"Theo, I need to speak to you in private." Blaise hissed.

"Can't it wait until we've had a drink?" Theo questioned, watching Pansy out of the corner of her eye and noticing she was paying close attention to the conversation.

"No." Blaise shook his head as he tapped his foot impatiently. "We need to talk, now. It's urgent."

"Okay." Theo sighed, acting as though Blaise's presence was a hassle. "We'll talk in my office."

Assuring Daphne they would be back as quickly as possible, Theo led the way to his office. When they entered the office they were careful not to shut the door fully behind them, meaning Pansy would be able to listen if she wanted to.

"Do you think this will work?" Theo whispered.

"Yeah, she was itching to know what I wanted." Blaise replied with a smirk. "Have you set up the charm to let us know if anyone's approaching?"

Theo nodded and pointed to a glass paperweight on his desk. "That will start to glow if anyone approaches the door. It will stay lit up until they leave again and the coast is clear."

Less than five minutes later the paperweight began to glow. Exchanging smirks Blaise and Theo then launched into their pre-prepared conversation.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Theo hissed accusingly. "I wouldn't have told anyone."

"I know, but Draco made me promise." Blaise replied. "He didn't want to put you in the line of fire, you've got Daphne to think about."

Theo made a small humming noise that could be construed as acceptance. "Can you at least tell me if he's okay?"

"Both him and Hermione are as okay as they can be in the circumstances." Blaise said.

"What are they going to do? The Aurors have a warrant out for Hermione's arrest."

"They're running." Blaise answered. "I've been helping Draco get some money together. He reckons by the beginning of next week they'll be out of Italy."

"Where will they go?" Theo asked, checking the paperweight was still lit up.

"Hell if I know, Draco won't say." Blaise replied, sounding annoyed that he wasn't being confided in. "I've told them it's too risky to move. No-one knows they're in my summer villa on the coast, they're perfectly safe there."

"I guess he's just taking precautions." Theo said. "It's probably safer to keep moving."

"Risker more like." Blaise snorted, nodding to the paperweight that was fading. Within a few seconds the glow was gone and it was back to being clear.

"Do you think it worked?" Theo asked nervously.

"Someone heard that conversation, I just don't know if it was Pansy or Daphne." Blaise replied. "But if we head back to the front room we might be able to find out."

Theo nodded and the two wizards made their way back to the front room, where they found Daphne cutting into a lemon drizzle cake. Also sitting on the coffee table was a tray, holding four cups and a pot of tea. It was clear that Daphne had left the room to get the refreshments, giving Pansy ample opportunity to sneak down the hallway and listen in on their conversation.

"I made tea." Daphne said with a smile. "And I got some cake. Blaise are you staying for a slice?"

"Definitely." Blaise grinned, settling down in one of the chairs.

"Did you sort your problem, Blaise?" Pansy asked. "You seemed awfully keen to speak to Theo."

"Yeah, it's all sorted." Blaise replied. "It was just a personal matter I needed his advice on."

"Hmm, personal indeed." Pansy murmured quietly, a knowing smile playing around her lips.

When Daphne and Pansy resumed their conversation, Blaise and Theo shared a triumphant look. Pansy had definitely been the one to overhear their conversation, now they just had to hope she acted on her new knowledge and turned up in Italy.

* * *

Saturday afternoon found Hermione pacing the floor in the front room, wondering if anything would happen. Blaise had visited them the previous evening and informed them that everything with Pansy ran like clockwork. Blaise and Theo had set out the bait, now everyone was waiting to see if she took them up on it.

"Stop pacing." Draco told his girlfriend as he entered the room. "Blaise will let us know if she shows up."

"I know." Hermione sighed. "I'm just nervous."

"So am I." Draco admitted. "Let's go for a walk on the beach to keep out minds off everything."

"Okay, but make sure you have your rock with you."

Draco reassured Hermione he had the rock as the couple headed out onto the beach. Blaise had given Draco a white rock, which he had enchanted to light up when he wanted to get in touch. Blaise was going to use the rock to let the couple know if Pansy showed up at the villa. Blaise and Theo were currently hiding up at the villa, ready to immobilise Pansy if she turned up. When he had visited the previous night Blaise had taken Draco over to the mainland with him and let him return with the boat, which they would use if they needed to head over to the mainland.

"What do we do if she doesn't show?" Hermione asked as the couple strolled along the golden sands hand in hand. She knew Draco already had a back-up plan but for some reason he hadn't shared it with her.

"If she doesn't show then I'm going to go to her." Draco answered.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, bring Draco to a standstill as well. "You can't do that, it's too risky." She said, turning to face her boyfriend. "The Aurors are looking for you as well. Going back home just isn't safe."

"It's a risk I'll just have to take." Draco replied.

"What would happen if the Aurors caught you?" Hermione demanded.

"Nothing, I would claim I've just been away for a while and had only just found out what had happened." Draco answered. "I promise I would never reveal your location." He added softly.

"I couldn't care less about that." Hermione snorted. "What I care about is you ending up in Azkaban. The whole reason I married Ron was to stop that from happening and to keep us together, you returning home will risk all that. Besides, once the Aurors had you in custody they could use veritiserum on you to find out where I was."

Draco paused thoughtfully, never having considered the possibility that the Aurors would use veritiserum on him. If he did have to pay Pansy a visit he would have to sort something with Blaise, so he could get Hermione away from the island for a while. Hopefully though, none of this would even be an issue as Pansy would turn up at the villa sometime over the weekend.

"I want you to promise me, you won't go and see Pansy." Hermione said when Draco remained silent.

"I can't do that, Hermione." Draco shook his head. "If this doesn't work and she fails to show up, we still need to find out what she knows."

"Then let Blaise or Theo go and speak to her." Hermione argued.

"I need to do this, Hermione." Draco said stubbornly. "Please don't fight me on this."

"No." Hermione pulled her hand out of Draco's grasp as she glared at the blond. "I won't just sit back and let you return home. If you insist on going, then I'm bloody well going with you."

Without waiting for a reply Hermione turned around and stormed off down the beach. Draco gaped after her for a minute or two, until he came to his senses and chased after her. Before long Draco had caught up to Hermione and he whirled her around to face him.

"You are not risking yourself by going home." Draco stormed. "I will not allow you to go someplace where you'll likely be arrested."

"The solution to this is simple, don't go home yourself." Hermione retorted. "You are not leaving the island without me, where you go I go."

Draco growled quietly as he ran his hand through his hair. "You are the most stubborn, infuriating witch I've ever met." He snarled, knowing that Hermione wouldn't back down and there was no way he was risking letting her return to England without first clearing her name.

"Thank you." Hermione smirked, knowing she had her boyfriend exactly where she wanted him. At times Draco was very easy to manipulate, you just had to know the right buttons to push to get him to do exactly as you wanted.

"That wasn't a bloody compliment." He muttered under his breath.

"So do we have a deal?" Hermione asked, ignoring Draco's last mutterings. "Where you go, I go."

"Fine." Draco bit out, not happy at being backed into a corner. "If this fails, I'll think of an alternative solution."

"One that doesn't involve either of us leaving this island." Hermione asserted.

"One that doesn't involve us leaving the island." Draco agreed.

"Good." Hermione smiled, stepping closer to Draco and giving him a quick peck.

Draco tried to remain mad at Hermione, but his girlfriend kept kissing him until his resolve broke and he pulled her into his arms. Giving her a small smile he connected their lips properly as he gave her a heated kiss. Hands had just started wandering when Draco pulled back, feeling a warm sensation coming from his pocket. Reaching into his trouser pocket he pulled out the stone Blaise had given him. It was glowing bright green.

"Oh my god, she's there." Hermione gasped. She could hardly believe that Pansy had fallen into the trap.

"Let's go and see what she has to say for herself, shall we." Draco said, taking hold of Hermione hand and turning towards the dock.

Running over the beach Draco and Hermione soon arrived at the dock. Jumping into the boat, Draco took control and soon had them speeding towards the mainland. Despite only ever having a brief lesson the day before from Blaise, Draco managed the boat like an expert as he guided it into the dock beside his best friends' villa.

Blaise was waiting for the couple on the dock and he helped Hermione out of the boat before helping Draco tie it to the dock.

"Is she here?" Draco demanded as his feet hit the wooden dock.

"She's here." Blaise smirked. "And she's not alone."

"Who's with her?" Hermione questioned, wondering if whoever was with Pansy was involved in Ron's death.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise." Blaise responded. "They're both restrained in the front room, come and say hello."

Draco and Hermione shared a puzzled look before following Blaise up to the villa. Blaise led them into the villa and straight towards the front room, where Theo was standing in the doorway with his wand drawn. When Theo stepped aside to let them enter the room Hermione let out a loud gasp. Pansy was sitting tied up on a chair, but sitting next to her alive and well was Ron.

Looking up at Hermione as she entered the room, Ron smirked at the witch. "Hello, wife."


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N - Thanks for all the reviews. It would appear that Ron's presence either came as a shock to people, or they'd picked up on the earlier hints and were expecting it. This is the chapter where we find out a bit more about Ron's motive for framing Hermione. Most of the chapter is a flashback, detailing events from Hermione agreeing to marry Ron to Ron and Pansy being caught by Blaise and Theo. Also the very important question of what Ron did to Hermione on their wedding night is answered in this chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen.**

Hermione froze as she stared at her supposedly dead husband. Things had just taken a very bizarre turn and she was totally lost for words. Draco however wasn't lost for words as he entered the room.

"I thought you were supposed to be bloody dead." He snapped at Ron.

"You wish." Ron chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, I'm very much alive."

"You won't be by the time I've finished with you." Draco muttered murderously.

"Draco, don't do anything rash." Hermione said, placing a calming hand on her boyfriend's arm.

"Are you serious?" Draco looked at Hermione in surprise. "I should string Weasley up by the balls for what he's put us through. The bastard should be dead."

"Well, I'm not." Ron smirked. "I'm right here."

"How is that?" Hermione questioned, before realisation dawned on her. "Oh my god, it's you isn't it? You're behind this entire set up."

"It's just a shame it didn't work." Ron retorted. "If you hadn't ran, I wouldn't be chasing after you and I wouldn't have been caught."

"Why did you do this?" Hermione asked. "Why frame me for your murder?"

"You're a smart witch, you work it out." Ron replied, before he refused to say anything else.

Hermione kept badgering Ron to talk to her, but when it became clear he was staying silent she left the room. Hermione was standing in the kitchen, trying to come to terms with what had happened, when Draco and Theo entered the room.

"Theo, I want you to go home and send a message to Potter." Draco said to his friend. "Tip him off that Hermione and myself are here."

"What should I do after that?" Theo asked. "Do you want me to come back once I've delivered the message?"

"You can do." Draco replied. "We'll just be waiting for Potter's arrival, so he can arrest those two scumbags in there."

Theo nodded before heading off home, leaving Draco and Hermione alone in the kitchen. Once Draco had checked Hermione was okay the couple returned to the front room to help Blaise keep an eye on their captives. When he entered the room Draco tried to engage Pansy in conversation, but it soon became clear that she was following Ron's lead and remaining silent.

Even though he was remaining silent, Ron made his presence felt by staring at Hermione the entire time. As he watched his wife from across the room Ron let his mind drift, reminiscing over the last six months and the events that had landed him in his present situation.

* * *

The second Hermione left his flat after agreeing to marry him, Ron growled angrily. Picking up a nearby glass he hurled it at the wall, watching it break and shatter glass over the carpet. Not caring about the mess he'd just made Ron grabbed his wand and apparated away in a fury.

Seconds later Ron arrived at Pansy's flat, where he promptly hammered on the door until the raven haired witch opened up. Pushing past Pansy he stalked into the front room and waited for her to follow him.

"Did she not accept your offer?" Pansy asked, pouring two glasses of firewhisky and handing one to Ron.

"She accepted it, but she made me take a bloody unbreakable vow." Ron spat. "I can't use the information I have about Malfoy, or she'll leave me."

"Give it to me and I'll hand it to the Aurors." Pansy said. "That way you're not breaking the vow."

"That idea did occur to me, but it won't work." Ron sighed. "True, I'm not breaking the vow but Hermione will still know I'm the one behind the information. She'll leave me in a heartbeat if Malfoy ends up in Azkaban."

"It looks like you'll just have to settle for being married to her." Pansy shrugged. "Surely that counts for something."

"Not if she's still shagging Malfoy." Ron retorted bitterly. "The whole point of this was to split them up. As it stands she's going to be married to me but still sleeping with Malfoy and there's not a thing I can do about it."

"I'm sorry the plan failed." Pansy said as she settled down on the sofa. "I want Draco away from Granger, just as much as you want her away from him."

"Do you?" Ron questioned. "Until I was going to arrest you, you weren't going to do anything about their relationship."

"Who says I wasn't doing anything?" Pansy raised an eyebrow in Ron's direction as she smirked at him. "How do you think I was able to hand you all the information you needed to get him sent to Azkaban? I'd already made a start on setting him up. As I've told you before, I know I don't stand a chance with Draco, but I will not stand by and let him be happy with the mudblood bitch."

"So you would rather he was in Azkaban?"

"Why not." Pansy shrugged. "If I can't have him then I would rather no-one had him. If he's all alone in a cell in Azkaban I know he's not with some other witch."

Ron silently sipped his firewhisky as he contemplated Pansy's words. Maybe it was time he thought about Hermione and what sort of relationship they could ever have. Hermione had already proved that she didn't want him and wouldn't end her relationship with Malfoy. Marrying her would undoubtedly change things between the pair but it wasn't driving them apart as he hoped it would. So even if he did marry Hermione she would still have Malfoy to turn to, he would still be a part of her life.

"I think you may be on to something." He said finally. "The whole point of this was to split Hermione and Malfoy up, so let's ensure that they don't get to be together, at least not in the way they hoped."

"What did you have in mind?" Pansy asked, curious as to what Ron could possibly do to split the couple up.

"I think I like your idea, if I can't have Hermione then no-one can." Ron smirked. "I want to ensure she's somewhere that no man will ever have her again."

"Where?"

"Azkaban. If she's lucky she might even get a cell next to Malfoy."

"You're going to send Granger to Azkaban?" Pansy queried, not believing what she was hearing. "How?"

"She's going to kill me on our wedding night." Ron replied. "Then once she's been arrested you're going to hand the information about Malfoy over to the Aurors and he'll also be arrested."

"I don't understand how this will work." Pansy frowned.

Ron chuckled as he began to explain his plan to Pansy. Pansy's job was to find a man Ron's size and build and hire him for a job on the weekend of the wedding, not mentioning of course that his job was to die in Ron's place. Ron's job was to ensure that Hermione was drugged on the wedding night and wouldn't wake up when the switch was made. They would then kill the imposter and frame Hermione, ensuring she ended up in Azkaban. Ron would then disappear and start a new life elsewhere, satisfied that Hermione was no longer with Malfoy.

Pansy was instantly on board with the plan and the pair set out making sure everything ran smoothly. For six months they planned everything perfectly and met up regularly to make sure things were on track. As time went on the pair began to develop a romantic attachment to each other and they altered their plans slightly so that once Hermione and Draco were in Azkaban they would run away together and start a new life together.

On the weekend of the wedding Ron was both nervous and excited. He'd snuck Pansy into the hotel, booking her a room on the floor below the honeymoon suite. Pansy brought with her the man who they had hired to play Ron and the second they had him in the hotel room they stunned him and tied him up. Pansy then dyed and cut his hair so it matched Ron's and the pair double checked that there was no way to tell them apart from their bodies. They know they would have to destroy his face, but Ron also knew that no tests would be ran to identify him if he was found next to Hermione, wearing a few of his things.

With Pansy holed up in her room, Ron set about laying the foundations for Hermione's guilt. During the reception he spotted his wife sneaking off into the garden. Watching where she settled he grinned to himself as he spotted Dean and Seamus sitting near to her, although he doubted Hermione had noticed them in her distracted state. Deciding the opportunity was one too good to miss he approached Hermione and made out she was having an affair with Malfoy. He knew after his 'death' Dean and Seamus would come forward and mention the conversation, giving Hermione the perfect motive to want to kill him.

Things got even better an hour or so later when Hermione cornered him and started arguing with him. Ron carefully checked no-one was in earshot before baiting her, hoping she would react. Her reaction was way better than he'd anticipated and he had to work hard to stop the grin that threatened to break out when she slapped him and very publically said she wished he was dead. Without even realising it Hermione had just made herself look even guiltier.

After Hermione had retreated from the reception, Ron put on a large smile and brushed off his friends and families concern. For the next hour he played the good husband and defended Hermione's behaviour, claiming she was just stressed and needed a good holiday. Once he was satisfied everyone knew he wasn't angry at Hermione, he ordered a bottle of champagne with two glasses before retreating upstairs.

Instead of heading straight to the honeymoon suite he headed to Pansy's room. Pansy immediately opened the door and let Ron inside.

"Champagne, how nice." Pansy smirked.

"It'll be even nicer in a bit." Ron grinned as he popped the cork. "Do you have the sleeping draught?"

Pansy handed Ron a glass vial full of purple liquid. Carefully Ron poured the liquid into the champagne, before picking up the tray once again.

"I'll be back in a bit." He told Pansy before he left.

After briefly popping up to the honeymoon suite, where Ron tormented Hermione about what was coming later on, he returned back to Pansy's room for a bit of action with a willing witch. When they were finished they undressed the man they were going to kill and Ron placed his watch and his wedding ring on the man.

"I'll be about half an hour." Ron said. "I need to make sure she's out of it before we bring him into the room. The last thing we want is for her to wake up and spot what we're doing."

"I'll be waiting." Pansy told Ron. "Have fun." She added with a smirk. She knew Ron was planning on sleeping with Hermione, but it was just the once and she had no problem with it.

Ron grinned at Pansy, before leaving her room and heading back to the honeymoon suite. The smile died on his lips as he entered the room and spotted Hermione passed out on the bed. Storming over to the brunette witch he shook her forcefully as he tried to wake her. After a few minutes he gave up his efforts when he spotted the empty champagne bottle.

"Bloody hell." He cursed, not sure if he was angry at himself for leaving the bottle or Hermione for drinking the whole thing.

What he did know was that Hermione wouldn't be waking any time soon, in fact she had digested so much of the sleeping draught he suspected she would still be sleeping deeply the following day. Spotting an opportunity to make sure Hermione was caught with his 'dead' body, Ron placed an order for lunch the following day.

Once that was sorted he walked back over to the bed and stared down at Hermione. If his plan was to be believable, Hermione would have to be out of her wedding dress. Luckily Ron had bought a sexy negligée that he planned on making Hermione wear. Grinning to himself Ron then set about undressing Hermione.

Once Hermione was lying in just her underwear, Ron was debating having his way with her anyway. His original plan was to have her drugged enough so she wouldn't fight back, but alert enough to know it was him she was with. He'd wanted her to always remember that her last sexual encounter had been with him, not Malfoy. Peeling off Hermione's white underwear Ron couldn't help but have a grope of her soft skin. As tempting as she was naked, Ron decided against doing anything more to her. If she wasn't conscious enough to know who was shagging her, then Ron failed to see the appeal in actually bedding his wife. Summoning the negligée he pulled it over Hermione's head and placed her in the bed, before heading off to get Pansy.

When he returned with Pansy they were floating their victim between them. Placing him in the bed beside Hermione, Ron pulled on some gloves before picking Hermione's wand up. A flash of green light ended the life of the man posing as him. Next Ron picked up a beater's bat and started to obscure the real identity of the man. Once he was satisfied everyone would be convinced the victim was him, he placed Hermione's hands in the blood before making her handle her wand and the bat.

Once the set-up was complete Ron and Pansy left the honeymoon suite, grabbed their bag from Pansy's room and snuck out of the hotel in the dead of night. The couple returned to Pansy's flat, knowing no-one would think to look for Ron there. The plan was to wait until the news of Hermione's arrest hit the headlines, before turning Malfoy in. Once they were both in custody Ron and Pansy were planning on leaving the country, never to return.

Their plans soon hit a hitch however when Pansy returned with the papers that announced Ron's 'death'. Ron's initial excitement had faded when he realised that Hermione had escaped, somehow she had awoken early and ran from the hotel before his 'body' had even been found.

"Bloody hell!" Ron screamed, throwing the papers down in frustration. "She's bloody ran. I bet you any money she's gone to him."

"What do we do now?" Pansy asked.

"We find them." Ron snarled. "I've haven't done all this, just to let them run off together. Once we find them we tip off the Aurors. When they're in custody, we hand over the information regarding Malfoy and go, just like we planned."

"If she's gone to Draco, it will be hard to find them." Pansy pointed out. "He's got plenty of money and lots of properties."

"Let's check as many of his places as we can." Ron suggested. "And make sure you keep in touch with mutual friends, they might hear something from him and let it slip."

"You have to stay hidden." Pansy argued. "I'll look for Draco and Granger."

Ron reluctantly agreed to Pansy taking the lead in the search, knowing he couldn't risk being seen. Unfortunately things got off to a slow start, Pansy found no sign of Draco at any of the family properties and no-one seemed to know where he was. However a week and a half after the wedding Pansy was having dinner with Daphne and Theo when she hit lucky. Overhearing a conversation between Theo and Blaise she ran back home to excitedly tell Ron the news.

"Are you sure this is right?" Ron asked, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Yes, I know what I heard." Pansy replied. "And this is our only chance to get them. Blaise says they're getting ready to move on and once they've left Italy we'll never find them."

"Do you know where Blaise's villa is?" Ron questioned.

"Yeah, it's a fairly new place on the coast. I've never actually been but I've seen pictures and know where it is." Pansy answered. "Do you want me to contact the Aurors?"

"No, we're going to check it out first." Ron said. "I want to be sure they're really there."

"Is that wise?" Pansy asked cautiously.

"Yes." Ron said firmly, not realising it was anything but wise to go to Italy.

After making what they thought was a fool proof plan, Ron and Pansy set off for Italy the next day. As it turned out Pansy had gotten her directions a bit mixed up and they didn't find Blaise's villa until the middle of the afternoon. When they did find the villa it looked deserted and Ron chastised Pansy for getting the directions wrong, causing a delay that might have let Hermione and Draco escape.

Convinced the couple were long gone Ron had gone barrelling into the house with Pansy at his heels. The pair had barely entered the villa when they were simultaneously stunned from behind. Neither Ron nor Pansy could put up a fight as Blaise and Theo appeared before them and tied them up on two chairs Blaise had summoned from the kitchen.

Ron was furious to be caught, but by the time Hermione and Draco entered the villa nearly twenty minutes after their capture he had grudgingly accepted his downfall. The thought of what was going to happen to him terrified him, but there was no way he was letting anyone see that so he kept up a cocky façade, tormenting both Hermione and Malfoy. Ron assumed that Theo's disappearance would lead to the Aurors turning up, but until he was forced to talk he was remaining silent.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen.**

Sitting at his desk in the middle of the Auror Department Harry tried not to stare at the desk opposite his, the desk that belonged to Ron. All of Ron's belongings in the Department had been packed away before Harry returned to work the previous day, but he still thought of the desk as belonging to his best friend.

As Harry struggled to concentrate on his paperwork, his mind started to drift. It had been Ron's funeral a couple of days earlier and he still couldn't get over how hard Molly had taken Ron's death. After the war and Fred's death she had been devastated, but this time she was inconsolable. Just to get her to Ron's funeral meant she had to be dosed up with pills and potions from the Healers, but even they couldn't block out the traumatic event for long and halfway through the ceremony she had broken down in a torrent of heart wrenching sobs.

Harry thought that one of the reasons Molly and the rest of the family were taking Ron's death so hard was the fact they thought Hermione had killed him. Harry still wasn't convinced of his friend's guilt but he hadn't been able to prove her innocence either. The Aurors in charge of the case were convinced that Hermione was guilty and they told Harry they weren't looking for anyone else in connection with Ron's death. When Harry had tried to argue for Hermione, Kingsley had stepped in and told him to back off. In fact the Minister had only allowed him to return to work if he left the Aurors investigating Ron's death well alone.

Shaking his head to dislodge thoughts of Ron and Hermione, Harry once again tried to concentrate on his work. Since he'd been off work after Ron's death, he was working on a Saturday in order to catch up with some paperwork he had missed. After half an hour of trying unsuccessfully to get working, Harry closed the file he was working and decided to have a break. Leaving his desk he wandered across into the Law Department staffroom and poured himself a steaming cup of coffee, before collapsing on one of the comfortable chairs dotted around the room.

Half an hour later Harry returned to his desk, determined to actually work. Initially his plan was working fine, until he moved a file on his desk and found an envelope with his name scrawled on the front. Harry puzzled over the envelope for several seconds, wondering who had left it on his desk. He knew for a fact it hadn't been on his desk earlier that morning, meaning someone had left it while he was in the staff room.

Finally deciding to open it and find out what it was, Harry ripped open the envelope. Unfolding the piece of parchment inside his heart stopped when he read the couple of hastily scrawled lines.

Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are hiding out in Blaise Zabini's Italian villa on the coast. They plan on leaving the country in the next few hours so you'll have to move quickly to catch them.

Harry read and re-read the note several times before jumping up and making his way to the Minister's office. He knew Kingsley was working because he'd spoken to him earlier. Harry was going to Kingsley because he would rather deal with the note himself rather than passing it onto the Aurors in charge of the investigation and he was hoping his long standing friendship with the Minister would help get him what he wanted.

"Harry, what can I do for you?" Kingsley asked as Harry entered his office.

"I've just found this on my desk." Harry answered, handing over the note to Kingsley.

Kingsley quickly read the note before jumping up ready for action. "If this is accurate we're going to have to move immediately. Can you handle it if we go, or do I need to call in someone else?"

"I can handle it." Harry replied, pleased he didn't have to beg Kingsley to allow him to go to Italy.

"Are you sure?" Kingsley paused and studied Harry carefully. "I know you think Hermione is innocent, but we will be going there to arrest her. Can you cope with that?"

"I know we'll be arresting her." Harry admitted, upset at the prospect but knowing it was inevitable. "But maybe once she's told her side of the story I'll have a better idea of how to help prove that she's innocent."

"I admire your loyalty Harry, but I think you should keep an open mind." Kingsley said as the two wizards left his office and headed down to the records department to find the address of Blaise's villa in Italy.

"Do you think Hermione is capable of murder?" Harry asked, knowing Kingsley was a good judge of character and had known Hermione for a long time.

"I think in the right circumstances anyone is capable of anything." Kingsley replied. "But on a personal level I have to admit I find it hard placing Hermione as a killer."

"When we bring her back, will you ensure she gets a fair trial?" Harry asked. "If she gives us any leads, they need to be followed up."

"Don't worry, Harry. I promise that I will listen to everything Hermione has to say and I'll personally check through everything before an official charge is made against her." Kingsley reassured Harry. "If there's a chance Hermione didn't kill Ron, we'll spot it and find the real culprit."

"Thanks, Kingsley." Harry smiled at the Minister.

Kingsley nodded sharply in response. "Enough talking, let's find Zabini's address and get to Italy."

Ten minutes later they had the address they needed and Kingsley was organising a floo connection to the Ministry in Italy. When they arrived in Rome, Kingsley organised for a couple of the Italian Aurors to accompany them to the villa. Kingsley made sure the Italian wizards knew not to interfere unless necessary before they left for the Italian coast.

When they arrived at the villa they debated various methods of gaining access to the villa. In the end Kingsley sent the two Italian Aurors to the back of the property, in case anyone tried to run, while he and Harry tried the straightforward approach and knocked on the door. When the door opened they found themselves standing in front of a serious looking Blaise Zabini.

"Potter. Minister." Blaise nodded. "We've been expecting you, do come in."

Harry and Kingsley shared a baffled look, but they stepped inside the villa.

"You do know why we're here, don't you?" Harry asked the former Slytherin.

"You're here because you got our message." A voice from a nearby doorway called.

Harry and Kingsley whirled around at the same time to find Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway of what they presumed was the front room. Harry was puzzled by the fact Malfoy seemed to have sent the message to him, but before he could react Blaise was speaking again.

"Maybe we should take this into the front room." He suggested, gesturing to the room behind Draco.

At Blaise's suggestion, Draco turned and re-entered the front room, leaving Harry and Kingsley to follow him. Entering the front room Harry's eyes fell on Hermione, who was standing in another doorway. Before he had a chance to say anything however his eyes scanned over the rest of the room, nearly giving him a heart attack at what he witnessed. Sitting tied up in a chair, next to Pansy Parkinson, was a scowling Ron.

"What the hell?" Harry whispered, grabbing hold of the nearest chair for support. He just spent nearly a fortnight grieving for his best friend and to see him alive and well was just so overwhelming.

"Would someone care to explain what's going on?" Kingsley ordered, looking from Ron to Hermione in confusion.

"How about I start." Hermione suggested, entering the room properly.

Sitting down on a large chair next to Draco she gestured for Harry and Kingsley to sit down on the sofa. Once everyone was settled she took hold of Draco's hand and prepared to tell her side of the story.

"It all started six months ago when Ron showed up at my flat and blackmailed me into agreeing to marry him." Hermione started. "Draco and I have been together for a while and somehow Ron found out and decided to do something about it."

"How did he blackmail you?" Kingsley asked.

"He said he had information proving Draco is involved in dark magic, and he said he would use it if I didn't marry him." Hermione answered. "The information's all false of course, but I wasn't risking him using it and getting Draco sent to Azkaban."

"Why didn't you come to me and tell me what was going on?" Harry asked quietly.

"Because I was worried you would take Ron's side." Hermione replied. "I know the information about Draco is false, but if Ron claimed it was real you would have believed him."

Harry wanted to protest but he knew Hermione was right. If he'd known about the information Ron had he would have believed it was real, even if Hermione had protested he would have brushed her off. The only reason he was believing her now was the situation he had walked in on. The fact Ron was alive changed everything, especially as it was looking like he was the mastermind behind this entire murder and frame-up.

"Why didn't you tell us about the blackmail, though?" Kingsley questioned. "Ron was still breaking the law by blackmailing you."

"Yes, he was, but he could have claimed the information was real and he was just taking advantage of the situation. I wasn't going to risk anyone taking his accusations seriously." Hermione said.

Kingsley nodded, understanding Hermione's reasoning. "So what happened the weekend of the wedding?"

"After the argument I had with Ron, I returned to the honeymoon suite where I drank until I passed out. I didn't wake up until the following morning, which was when I found 'Ron' was dead."

"So you ran." Harry said quietly.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "All the evidence pointed to me, and I'd given myself a great motive the previous day. I knew I didn't stand a chance so I went to Draco and we ran."

"How did you work out what had happened that night?" Kingsley asked. "How did you know Ron was still alive?"

"Until he showed up here, we didn't." Draco answered, taking over the story. "Last week Pansy had said something to raise Theo's suspicions and we decided she was involved in what happened. We set the trap for her, we didn't expect to catch a weasel as well."

"I think it's time to hear the other side of the story now." Kingsley said, turning to Ron. "I'm assuming you want a chance to explain yourself."

"What's to explain, I tried setting Hermione up and I failed." Ron snapped.

"But why?" Harry asked his friend in bewilderment. "I thought you loved her."

"I do, that's why I did this." Ron retorted. "She deserves better than Malfoy."

"And Azkaban is better is it?" Draco snorted in disgust.

Harry ignored Draco and looked at his best friend in complete disbelief. This wasn't the Ron he knew, the Ron he knew wasn't so malicious and cruel.

"You don't love Hermione." Harry stated forcefully as he finally found his voice. "What you did was the total opposite of love, it was bloody deranged. You didn't for one minute think of the pain you've caused her, not to mention the rest of your family. Did you ever give them a consideration when you were planning your little stunt? Did it never occur to you how devastated they would be to lose someone else? Your mother is a complete mess, half the time the Healers have her sedated because she just can't cope."

Harry took a deep breath after his rant. He still had plenty more he wanted to say to Ron, but for now he looked to have said enough to rattle Ron. Since him and Kingsley had arrived the redhead had been seemingly unconcerned with what was happening, but at least now he looked slightly guilty. The mention of the rest of his family, Molly in particular, seemed to have made his realise the serious repercussions of his actions.

"I think it's time we returned to the Ministry. We need the full story and we need to know where Miss Parkinson fits in this." Kingsley announced as he stood up. "You'll have to come as well, Hermione." He added, turning to the brunette witch. "In fact I want you all to come back to London and give statements."

"Will the charges against Hermione be dropped?" Draco asked, reluctant to let his girlfriend return home if she could be arrested.

"Yes, I'll sort that personally." Kingsley assured the blond wizard. "Hermione will face no charges, but we need to do everything officially."

Satisfied it would be safe for Hermione to return home, Draco agreed they would all return with Kingsley and Harry. Once Kingsley had brought the Italian Aurors into the villa plans then got underway to return to London. Ten minutes later everyone left Blaise's place and headed to the Italian Ministry in Rome, before they headed home to sort out the mess Ron and Pansy had created.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen.**

It was well past midnight before Hermione had finished with Kingsley and was free to leave the Ministry. Upon arriving back in London, Ron and Pansy had been situated in interrogations rooms and the Aurors assigned to the case had started questioning them. A couple of other Aurors had been brought it to take statements from Theo and Blaise, while Harry took Draco's statement. Hermione meanwhile dealt with Kingsley as he took her statement and sorted out the issues surrounding the outstanding warrant against her name.

When Hermione had left Kingsley, she headed into the Law Department staff room. The Minister had promised her that Draco was waiting for her there, which he was. What Kingsley hadn't told her was that Harry was with him, so Hermione got a shock when she spotted her best friend upon entering the room.

"Hi." Harry stood up and smiled hesitantly at Hermione when she entered the room.

Hermione smiled back at Harry before rushing over to him and wrapping him in a tight hug. Harry immediately tightened his grip on Hermione and the two friends stood embracing for a long time. In fact they only parted when Draco cleared his throat, reminding them he was there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to monopolize her attention." Harry told Draco as the blond wizard stepped forward and gave Hermione a quick kiss and a hug. "I've just really missed my best friend."

"I've missed you too, Harry." Hermione said, squeezing Harry's hand. "And I want to thank you for believing in me. Kingsley told me that you never thought I was guilty and that you kept protesting my innocence."

"I know you Hermione, and you're not a killer. But then again I thought I knew Ron, and I never would have thought him capable of such evil." Harry sighed.

"I wish I could say the same, but these last six months have totally changed my opinion of him." Hermione said. "Although even then, I never would have imagined he would have killed an innocent man just to set me up."

"Speaking of which, do you know who Weasley and Pansy killed in his place?" Draco asked Harry, knowing he had briefly spoken to the Auror who had been interviewing Pansy.

"A foreign wizard who Pansy sometimes does business with." Harry replied. "Apparently her jewellery business is a front for selling dark artefacts. This bloke they killed was a trader on the black market."

"Why did they pick him?" Hermione asked. "What did he ever do to them?"

"Nothing, apart from he was the same height and build as Ron." Harry answered. "That's all they required for their victim. Once they had him sedated they dyed and cut his hair to match Ron's, then they made sure his face was obscured from visual identification."

"That's awful." Hermione whispered. "They killed an innocent man just to frame me."

"He wasn't totally innocent, there's an international warrant out for his arrest. He's a well-known black market trader and several Auror departments across the globe were looking to question him on various offences." Harry explained.

"He still didn't deserve to be killed like that." Draco argued.

"No, he didn't." Harry agreed with the blond.

Once the subject of the identity of Ron's victim was exhausted an awkward silence fell in the room. Just as Draco was about to suggest him and Hermione leave, Harry decided to speak.

"Hermione, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Hermione questioned. From where she was standing Harry had completely and utterly trusted her and had no reason to be sorry.

"For not being a better friend." Harry answered. "I'm sorry you felt you couldn't confide in me earlier. If I hadn't been such a judgemental arsehole when it came to Malfoy, you might have told me what Ron was doing."

"It doesn't matter now." Hermione insisted. "I just want to forget this ever happened and move on with my life. I don't want to hold grudges and cast aspersions."

"Will moving on be that easy?" Harry queried. "You are still technically married to Ron."

"Actually Kingsley's filed for an annulment. He reckons there'll be no problem getting it and by this time next week the marriage will be dissolved." Hermione replied, relief at the swift solution evident in her voice.

"That's good." Harry nodded. "You deserve to be with someone you really love."

"And I am." Hermione answered, smiling at Draco.

Harry smiled at the couple, happy that Ron hadn't managed to destroy Hermione's happiness. After taking Draco's statement the two wizards had talked and Harry was in no doubt that the former Slytherin thought the world of Hermione and was madly in love with her.

"I should be getting back." Harry said. "I want to check on the interviews, before trying to catch a few hours' sleep. Tomorrow will be a tough day and I'm not looking forward to it one bit."

"What's happening tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow I have to tell that Weasley's that's Ron's not dead and in fact he organised the entire thing." Harry answered wearily. "To be honest, I think the truth could be worse than what we thought had happened."

"Could you pass a message on from me?" Hermione asked.

"Of course."

"Tell them I understand if they thought I was guilty. Part of me wasn't sure of the truth so I don't hold it against them in any way for thinking the worst." Hermione said quietly. "Also tell them that I would love to see them, but I'll understand if they don't want to see me or if it's too soon for them. Just let them know that I love them and I hope this isn't the end of our relationship."

"I can do that." Harry nodded. "And for the record, I'm sure they'll want to see you at some point. It might not be right away, but I know they'll want to see you and talk to you."

"Thanks Harry." Hermione smiled, before she suddenly turned serious. "And if it's not too much trouble can you do me another favour?"

"Anything." Harry answered immediately. After everything Hermione had been through there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help his friend.

"The night of the murder I passed out wearing my wedding dress, but in the morning I was in a nightgown." Hermione said. She didn't want to think about what Ron could have done to her, but now he was alive and could tell them exactly what happened she needed to know the truth. "Someone undressed me and changed what I was wearing, I need to know if it was Ron and if he did anything to me."

Harry felt sick at the implication behind Hermione's words, but he could understand it was a valid worry for his friend. Before today he would have scoffed at anyone implying Ron would rape Hermione, but after everything else his friend had done Harry wasn't so sure anymore. The Ron he thought he knew was clearly very different to the person he really was.

"I'll make sure you get the truth." He reassured Hermione. "I don't know how his interview is going or when he'll be finished, but I promise that I'll pay you a visit to bring you up to date."

"Thanks Harry." Hermione said, giving her friend another hug.

"Yeah thanks, Potter." Draco said, reaching out and shaking Harry's hand. "Hermione will be at mine when you need to come and see her."

After saying their goodbyes Harry headed back to check on the interviews, while Hermione and Draco made their way out of the Auror Department and towards the atrium. It wasn't until they were leaving the Ministry that Hermione remembered Blaise and Theo had been with them when they arrived.

"They left a couple of hours ago." Draco replied when Hermione asked about his friends. "They were going to wait, but I sent them home. They'll probably both show up sometimes tomorrow, just to check on things."

"As long as it's late." Hermione said, stifling a yawn. "I'm so tired, all I want to do is sleep."

"Let's get you home then." Draco put his arm around Hermione and apparated them both back to his penthouse.

Within half an hour of returning home the couple were curled up in bed, fast asleep.

* * *

Hermione didn't actually sleep as long as she'd anticipated and be mid-morning she was wide awake. Draco was still sleeping beside her, and not wanting to disturb her boyfriend she remained in bed. Lying looking up at the familiar ceiling, Hermione let her thoughts wander over recent events.

While she was relieved that she and Draco were no longer running from the law, she knew things were far from over. She may have been cleared of killing Ron, but she still had to endure his trial. Then there were the Weasley's and how they would react to her. Hermione hoped she still had a relationship with the loving family, but she knew that they may decide to fully support Ron, meaning she would be left out in the cold.

Hermione was so distracted with thoughts of the Weasley's that she failed to notice when Draco woke up. Draco lay watching Hermione for several minutes, before he leant over and brushed his lips against her cheek.

"You're awake." Hermione said, turning her head slightly so she was facing Draco.

"I have been for a while." Draco answered. "You looked lost in thought and I didn't want to disturb you."

"I was just thinking." Hermione sighed. "Do you think this whole mess is partly our fault?"

"What?" Draco looked at Hermione in complete confusion, not knowing why she was blaming them. "Why would this be our fault?"

"We kept our relationship a secret for so long." Hermione said. "Maybe if we told people sooner, this wouldn't have happened."

"First of all our relationship has nothing to do with anyone else. If we want to conduct in in private, that's our business." Draco replied. "And secondly, even if we had told people who's to say Weasley still wouldn't have taken the news badly. He still could have set me up and tipped the Aurors off, only we wouldn't have known where the information was coming from. The problem for him wasn't the fact our relationship was a secret, the problem was the entire relationship."

"I guess you're right." Hermione conceded. "Chances are Ron would still have taken the news badly."

"Exactly, and instead of me being here with you I could be in Azkaban." Draco said. "Don't forget that if Weasley hadn't approached you that first day, you were planning on telling his family about us on the Sunday. Judging from everything's he's done, I don't think he would have thought twice about using the fake information at his disposal."

Hermione nodded, understanding where Draco was coming from. While she now felt less guilty about their parts in events she still wasn't sure if other people would see things the same way. It would be very easy for people to look at what had happened and say that it wouldn't have happened if she and Draco had been open about their relationship from the beginning. Then again you could argue that if they had thought her friends and his family would support them in the first place then they wouldn't have felt the need to hide their relationship until it was more secure.

"I don't want you blaming yourself for any of this." Draco insisted, not quite convinced that Hermione was believing what he was telling her. "The only people at fault here are Weasley and Pansy. They chose to do what they did, no-one forced them into acting that way. They had a choice, even if they didn't like our relationship they didn't have to try and destroy it. Everything they did was because of them, not us."

"You're right." Hermione said, shaking off the remains of her guilty thoughts. "It was their choice to try and set you up and frame me. At the end of the day they picked their path and now they have to live with their choice."

Draco smiled, pleased that Hermione was starting to see that the horrors of the last few weeks weren't their fault. "Exactly. Now it's time for us to try and move on with our lives and I thought we could start by meeting my mother. After recent events I really need to go and see her and I thought you might like to come with me."

"Today?" Hermione asked and Draco nodded. "What's she like? Will she accept me being a muggleborn?"

"She'll have no choice in the matter, I love you and that's not going to change." Draco replied. "As for what she's like, she's a bit like me in the fact you have to get to know her a bit before she lets her guard down and shows you the real her. I'm not going to lie, she's not going to be over the moon that you're a muggleborn but since the end of the war she's been trying to adjust and she'll come round."

"What if she doesn't?" Hermione asked. "Do you have any tips on how to get in her good books?"

"Just be yourself." Draco chuckled at his girlfriend's obvious nervousness. "Once she sees how much we love each other she'll come round. All mother has ever wanted is for me to be happy, and I'm happy with you so she'll accept you. And hopefully in time you might even become close, she always wanted a daughter."

Hermione bit back a comment about how Narcissa would surely want a prim and proper pureblood as a daughter not a muggleborn like her, and instead asked Draco about when he planned on going to visit his mother. As the couple got up and got dressed, they decided that they would visit the Manor later that evening. That way if Blaise and Theo popped round before then they would be in to see their friends and thank them for everything they've done for them in the last few weeks.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen.**

Harry awoke with a feeling of dread in his stomach, today was the day he had to inform the Weasley's what was going on with Ron. Rolling over in bed he found he was alone and a glance at the clock revealed it was the middle of the afternoon, meaning Ginny would likely have already left for the Burrow. After he returned from Italy the previous evening he had sent Ginny an owl explaining he had to work late and when he had arrived home in the early hours of the morning his fiancée was already fast asleep. Harry had gotten into bed without disturbing Ginny and it looked like she had paid him the same courtesy when she had gotten up.

Once Harry had got up and dressed, he headed downstairs to grab himself something to eat. In the kitchen he found a quick note from Ginny, confirming that she had gone to the Burrow. Ginny's note said she'd inform the family he had been working late and if he was still tired he should stay at home. As tempting as Ginny's offer was Harry knew he had to go and visit the Burrow. Over the next few days the Ministry would have to release an official statement on the case and the family needed to be prepared to face the fallout that would undoubtedly occur at the revelation Ron was alive and had masterminded the entire murder.

After two strong cups of coffee, a bowl of cereal and a couple of slices of toast Harry was ready to face the family. Bracing himself for the afternoon to come he flooed to the Burrow, arriving in a deserted front room. The room was only deserted for a few minutes before Ginny poked her head around the door that led to the kitchen.

"Harry, you're here." Ginny smiled at her fiancé as she headed over to greet him.

The second she was close enough Harry pulled Ginny into him and wrapped her securely in his arms. As he held Ginny, he wished he was bringing better news for the family. They had already suffered so much and things weren't going to get any easier with the re-emergence of Ron.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked Harry as she pulled back to get a good look at him. He looked tired and she could see the worry in his eyes.

"Not really." He admitted with a sigh.

"Tough case?" Ginny questioned with a sympathetic smile.

"Awful case." Harry replied. "In actual fact Ginny that's the reason I've come, I need to speak to the entire family."

"Have you found Hermione?" Ginny gasped, trying to guess the reason Harry was being so serious.

Harry nodded, but refused to elaborate any further when Ginny asked him more questions. "Go get the rest of the family Ginny. I don't want to go over this more than necessary."

Ginny rushed off to gather the rest of the family while Harry paced the floor in front of the fireplace, trying to decide on the best place to start. Five minutes later the entire family was gathered in the front room, the atmosphere tense with a tinge of sadness still in the air. Harry looked around at the family as he tried to decide where to begin. They all looked so sad, especially Molly who was curled up next to Arthur barely aware what was going on.

"Ginny says you've got news." Bill prompted when Harry didn't speak.

"I have." Harry nodded. "I just wish it was good news, but it isn't. You should all prepare yourselves for a shock."

"Have you found Hermione?" Percy questioned. "Has she confessed?"

"Yes, we've found Hermione, and no she hasn't confessed." Harry answered quietly. "We've also found the real killer and his accomplice."

"You know who killed Ron?" Ginny gasped. "Who?"

"Ron isn't dead." Harry's announcement caused pandemonium in the small living room and it took Harry quite a while to calm everyone down. "One at a time." He said to the shocked family. "Maybe I should explain before you ask questions."

"Maybe you should." Arthur said. "How is Ron still alive? We buried him a few days ago."

"This isn't going to be easy to hear, but Ron was behind the entire thing." Harry explained, once again quieting the family down before he carried on speaking. "He's admitted everything. Along with Pansy Parkinson he set the entire thing up in an attempt to frame Hermione."

"Why would he want to frame Hermione?" Charlie questioned. "He just married her for crying out loud."

"And where does Parkinson fit into all this?" George asked.

"This all goes back to about fourteen months ago." Harry explained, starting at the beginning of the tale. "Acting on a tip-off Ron went to arrest Pansy for dealing in dark artefacts. Not wanting to be arrested she told Ron about Hermione's relationship with Malfoy and offered him a partnership so they could split them up."

"Wait, so Hermione was already with Malfoy." Ginny interrupted with a frown. "Then why did she marry Ron?"

"She married him because Ron blackmailed her." Harry answered.

"No!" Molly cried, speaking for the first time since Harry arrived. Harry wasn't even sure she had been understanding what was going on, but from the glare she was sending his way she was understanding everything just fine. "Ron wouldn't do that."

"I wish that was true." Harry sighed. "I'm sorry Molly, he's admitted doing it. Together with Pansy he faked a pile of evidence against Malfoy, claiming he was involved with dark wizards and using dark magic. He then went to Hermione and threated to use the information to send Malfoy to Azkaban unless she married him."

"Are you really sure this information is fake?" Charlie questioned, not wanting to believe his little brother could be so wicked.

"Yes. Both Ron and Pansy have admitted they faked the lot, Malfoy hasn't done anything wrong."

"Why did she marry Ron, though?" Bill questioned. "Why not call his bluff and prove the evidence was fake."

"She wasn't going to risk Malfoy getting sent to Azkaban, with his good behaviour bond he would have been sent to prison while the case was under investigation and to be truthful his case wouldn't have been a priority." Harry answered. "According to Ron the fake stuff is good, he admitted that if he didn't know it was fake he would believe it."

"Is it really that good?" George asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen it yet." Harry shrugged. "Apparently Ron's got it hidden upstairs, I'll get it before I leave."

"No, this is all lies." Molly suddenly jumped up, surprising everyone in the room. "I want to see my son. I need to bring him home."

"I'm sorry Molly, it's not possible for him to come home." Harry said gently, his heart breaking for the broken witch standing in front of him. "I can arrange a visit for you though."

"No, I want my son now." Molly cried, bursting into tears.

Arthur jumped up and took a gentle hold of his wife. Returning her to where they were sitting he held her close as she sobbed into him. Arthur continued to comfort Molly as he urged Harry to tell them everything else.

"After blackmailing Hermione into agreeing to marry him, he got a shock when she made him take an unbreakable vow not to use the information he had on Malfoy." Harry continued, keeping an eye on Molly as he knew the story was about to get a lot worse. "Originally he'd been planning on using it the second him and Hermione was married, but with the vow he couldn't. He also realised that Hermione would never love him, so he decided that if he couldn't have her no-one could."

"That's a bit extreme." George muttered. "I'm still finding it hard to believe Ron would actually do this."

"Tell me about it, but it's like something inside him snapped and he's just not the same person anymore." Harry responded sadly. He'd watched part of the interview with Ron and it was like a stranger was residing in his best friend's body. "Once he got the idea in his head to set Hermione up, he became obsessed. In his head it was better that Hermione was in Azkaban than with Malfoy."

"I thought he genuinely loved her." Ginny murmured quietly.

"According to Ron he does." Harry replied.

"If he loved her then he never would have done this." Bill snorted. "Although I'm still not clear on what he did do."

"Pansy found a man who was Ron's height and build and they lured him to the hotel where the wedding was taking place. They then drugged him and changed his hair to match Ron's." Harry explained, once again looking over at Molly who was huddling even closer to Arthur. "Ron then deliberately made sure Dean and Seamus knew about Hermione and Malfoy."

"What about the other argument they had when Hermione slapped him?" George asked. "Was that organised by Ron?"

"No, he just took advantage of her annoyance and baited her. Unknowingly Hermione added to her own motive by striking him." Harry replied.

"What happened next?" Arthur asked quietly. The things that Ron had done were horrific, but he knew both him and Molly needed to hear the truth about their youngest son.

"Ron slipped some sleeping draught into some champagne as a way of subduing Hermione. She drank the entire contents of the bottle and passed out. She didn't wake up until morning." Harry answered. He'd been very pleased to hear that while Ron had undressed Hermione he hadn't done anything else to her, what wasn't so relieving was Ron's admittance that the only reason he didn't do anything was because he wanted her conscious. It was actually rather chilling the way he gloated over the fact he wanted her to know that she'd been with him.

"So Hermione didn't know what had happened?" Ginny questioned.

"No, she woke up next to who she assumed was Ron." Harry answered. "She saw the set-up Ron and Pansy had laid out and knew that if she stayed she would have been arrested. And she was right, if she hadn't ran she would be in Azkaban and we would never know the truth."

"This man who was killed, who actually did the deed?" Arthur asked.

"Ron."

Harry's response was quiet but it sent a chill around the room. Molly broke down in a fresh round of tears and a few other members of the family looked to be on the verge of crying themselves. It was one thing to hear how Ron had framed Hermione and Draco, but it was another to hear that he was a cold blooded killer.

"How did you find Ron?" Bill asked, once the initial shock of Ron killing someone had worn off. "Did you suspect he was alive?"

"No, I didn't suspect a thing." Harry replied with a shake of the head. "Yesterday I got a message saying that Hermione and Malfoy were hiding in Italy. Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini had been helping them try and find the truth and they had become suspicious of Pansy. They set a trap for her, and Ron walked into it with her. They sent the note so we would know the truth."

"Where's Hermione now?" Ginny questioned, feeling guilty for all the bad thoughts she'd had about her friend.

"With Malfoy. She wants you all to know how sorry she is and that she loves you. She understands if you don't want to see her, but she would like to see you all."

"She wants to see us?" Arthur asked in bewilderment. "After everything Ron's done to her, why would she want to see us?"

"You're her family and she loves you." Harry replied. "She doesn't blame you for what Ron did and I hope no-one's going to blame her."

"Of course they're not." George insisted immediately. "She's the victim here."

"What about Ron?" Molly asked quietly.

"He's not the victim." Ginny replied sharply.

Molly winced at her daughter's harsh tone, but shook her head. "I didn't mean that. I mean what happens to him now? Have we lost him for good?"

"He's likely to end up in Azkaban for life." Harry replied. He was saddened by the thought, but knew it was nothing less than what Ron deserved after everything he'd done. "I'm sorry, Molly."

Molly nodded as she stood up shakily. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

Arthur jumped up and escorted his wife from the room. Harry suspected that Molly was going to break down again, but just wanted to do so in the privacy of her own bedroom. She'd just had a massive shock and Harry suspected it was going to take some time for her to come to terms with what had happened. In fact it was going to take everyone time to come to terms with the fact Ron wasn't dead, he was in fact a killer.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen.**

Hermione nervously fiddled with her small silver hoop earrings as she waited for Draco to emerge from the bedroom. The couple were getting ready to visit the Burrow, and see the Weasley's for the first time since everything had happened and Hermione was a bag of nerves.

It had been four weeks since Ron had been arrested and Hermione and Draco returned home. In those four weeks Hermione had officially moved in with Draco and met his mother. Like Draco had said Narcissa was pretty frosty to begin with but with each passing visit she was becoming friendlier and Hermione had high hopes that one day they would get along just fine.

In the weeks since Ron's arrest Hermione had seen Harry almost every day, and both her and Draco were extremely relieved when he informed them that Ron hadn't done anything untoward with Hermione when she was unconscious. Hermione had also spent a lot of time with Ginny and the two witches were now closer than ever. Ginny had been distraught to discover the truth and she'd apologised to Hermione several times, until Hermione firmly told her she had nothing to be sorry about. Hermione had also seen George a couple of times, but until now she hadn't seen the rest of the family.

Through Ginny, Hermione found out just how hard Molly was taking everything. Harry had arranged for Molly to visit Ron shortly after his arrest, but according to Ginny it hadn't gone well. Molly had been devastated to discover that while Ron was sorry for hurting his family he didn't regret what he had done to Hermione and Draco. After that initial visit Molly refused to go back and see Ron and according to Ginny she was slowly starting to get back to some semblance of normality. Both Ginny and Harry agreed that Molly was coping by concentrating her love and attention on the rest of the family. And since that family included Hermione, Molly had asked if she would visit them.

Hermione had instantly accepted the invitation, but had been surprised when Ginny then made it clear they expected Draco to be with her. Draco had been less than keen on visiting the family of redheads, but in the end he agreed to go to support Hermione. Hermione knew her boyfriend was worried that Ron's family would blame him for what had happened but she knew if that was the case then the invite would never have been issued. If the Weasley's wanted to meet Draco it was because they recognised he was an important part of Hermione's life and therefore he was part of their large extended family.

"Are you ready?" Draco's voice jolted Hermione out of her thoughts.

As Draco strolled into the front room, Hermione nodded and picked up her bag. Standing up she gave Draco a shaky smile before taking hold of his hand to apparate them to the Weasley's home.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, stopping Hermione before she whisked them away.

"Just nervous." Hermione replied.

"It'll be fine." He reassured his girlfriend. "I'll be there the entire time, and Potter and Red will be there as well."

"I wish you'd learn to call them Harry and Ginny." Hermione tutted at her boyfriend's names for her best friends.

"Maybe one day." Draco shrugged. It had only been four weeks since the couple had become a regular part of his life and calling them by their first names was a bit friendlier than what Draco was ready for.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, knowing that was the best she was going to get out of him for now. In the future hopefully he would get on first name basis with her friend's, but for now she would take what she could get and just be grateful everyone was making an effort and trying to get along.

"Right, let's go." Hermione shook herself out of her wishful thinking and once again prepare to apparate them to the Burrow.

This time Draco didn't interrupt her and the pair vanished from the penthouse with a pop. When they reappeared they were by the side of a winding county lane and Hermione pointed the Burrow out to Draco. The house was a short distance from where they had arrived and as they got closer Draco could see figures flying in the air. By the time Hermione and Draco reached the front gate, Ginny was waiting for them in the yard.

"Hi, I'm so pleased you guys came." Ginny gushed at the couple. "Hermione, why don't you go inside and see mum, she's in the kitchen. Malfoy, you can come with me and I'll introduce you to the rest of the family."

Both Hermione and Draco knew Ginny's plan was her way of giving her time alone with Molly, so they both went along with it. Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss and a reassuring smile, before letting Ginny drag him off to the back garden. Hermione watched them go before opening the front door and stepping into the familiar house. As she made her way through to the kitchen, Hermione felt her nerves building up again at the prospect of facing Molly.

When she reached the kitchen, Hermione hovered in the doorway. Molly was standing at one of the kitchen counters icing a cake and Hermione was struck by how normal everything seemed. If she hadn't known about recent events, she would have sworn it was a regular Sunday at the Weasley's, with Molly bustling about in the kitchen, all the time keeping an eye on her family through the kitchen window. When Molly turned round however, Hermione could see the difference in the older witch. Molly's normally cheerful and friendly demeanour was replaced by sadness and exhaustion. Just looking at her, Hermione could instantly tell how much she had been suffering.

"Oh, Molly!" Hermione cried, rushing over to the older witch.

Molly instantly wrapped Hermione in a motherly hug, before she broke down and started to sob heavily. Hermione held onto Molly as she felt her own tears begin to fall. For a few minutes the two witches stood comforting each other, until they slowly calmed down.

"I'm so sorry Molly." Hermione whispered, wiping at her face to destroy the evidence of her tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart." Molly said soothingly, whipping out her wand and using magic to make them both presentable. "If anyone should be sorry, it should be me."

"You don't need to be sorry, you haven't done anything." Hermione protested.

"Clearly I've done something wrong to raise a son who would do what Ron did." Molly sighed heavily as she slumped down in one of the kitchen chairs.

At Molly's words, Hermione realised that she blamed herself for Ron's actions. "You did nothing wrong." She insisted, sitting down and taking hold of Molly's hand. "You're an excellent, loving mother and Ron's actions are not your fault. I don't why he acted the way he did, but whatever the reason it wasn't anything you did."

"That's what Arthur keeps saying, but it's hard not to blame myself." Molly admitted. "I just keep wondering if there was anything I could have done to make things turn out differently."

"I ask myself the very same thing every day." Hermione said quietly. Despite her talk with Draco just after they returned home she couldn't help the moments of guilt and doubt that crept into her thoughts.

"What answer do you come up with?"

"That, yes I could have done some things differently but at the end of the day none of this is my fault, just like none of this is your fault. Like it or not, we need to accept that Ron made his decision and he chose to do what he did of his own free will." Hermione answered, hoping she wasn't going to upset Molly further.

Luckily Molly nodded in response, seeing the logic in Hermione's answer. "I think this may have been easier if I could find a reason for Ron doing this." She whispered. "At first I clung onto the hope he was ill, but Harry told us yesterday that he's passed all the medical exams and is fit to stand trial."

"I know, Harry told me as well." Hermione replied.

For the last month the investigation had been ongoing as the Aurors continued to question Ron and Pansy, while they built a watertight case against the pair. With Ron's lack of remorse he had undergone several rounds of vigorous medical testing, just to be sure he wasn't suffering from some sort of mental affliction. However the tests all revealed he had control of his faculties and had known exactly what he'd been doing. As such it was decided he was fit to stand trial and according to Harry it was be pretty speedy. The Ministry were humiliated enough that one of their Aurors had orchestrated such a devastating crime and they wanted the entire thing over and done with as soon as possible.

"Will you go to the trial?" Molly asked.

"I'll have to, I'll be a witness." Hermione replied. "But even if I wasn't, I would want to be there. I know he's your son Molly, but I need justice. I need him to get what he deserves."

"I understand." Molly nodded, fighting back the tears again. She knew Ron needed to be punished for what he'd done, but he was still her son and no matter what she couldn't stop loving him.

"I wish you didn't have to go through this." Hermione sighed, leaning over and hugging Molly again.

"I wish none of us had to go through this. But we have to, so all we can do is try and muddle along the best we can." Molly replied. "We will get through this together, you know."

Hermione nodded and gave Molly a warm smile. "I've really missed you."

"I've really missed you too." Molly smiled back at Hermione. "Now why don't you take me outside and introduce me to your boyfriend."

"Sure, if he's survived a half hour with your lot." Hermione chuckled as she linked arms with Molly and the two women made their way outside.

"I told them to be on their best behaviour." Molly said. "But you know what George's idea of best behaviour is like."

Hermione laughed, knowing that to George a promise to be on his best behaviour meant creating even more havoc than normal. Luckily when they exited the kitchen everything looked normal in the back garden. A long table was set-up with plate's full of food for afternoon tea and the various members of the Weasley family were milling around the garden. Draco was standing at the bottom of the garden with Harry and George, chatting quite happily with the duo.

When Draco spotted Hermione, he left Harry and George at the bottom of the garden and made his way towards his girlfriend. When he arrived at her side, Hermione introduced him to Molly and the two made polite conversation for a couple of minutes.

"Ginny, there's a cake in the kitchen, go and grab it and we can start eating." Molly said, grabbing Ginny's attention when she came to say a proper hello to Hermione.

While Ginny went inside to grab the cake, Molly wandered off to where Arthur was sitting, leaving Draco and Hermione alone for a few minutes.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I'm actually quite enjoying myself." Draco admitted with a grin. "Some of these Weasley's aren't half bad."

"Thanks for the compliment, Malfoy." George's amused voice called as he came up beside the couple. "I don't suppose you're that bad, yourself."

"Who said I was referring to you?" Draco arched an eyebrow in George's direction, but his tone of voice indicted he was joking. "I might have been talking about your brothers."

"Please, my brothers are okay, but I'm the best Weasley." George grinned, before winking at Hermione. "Isn't that right, Hermione?"

"I'm saying nothing." Hermione laughed. "I'll let you two sort this out yourselves."

Still chuckling at George and Draco, Hermione wandered off to see the rest of the family. As she was hugging Arthur and catching up with him she noticed Draco and George grab a couple of brooms and go soaring off into the sky. From the looks of things they were having some sort of race, but she could hear the laughter from where she was and she could see what fun her boyfriend was having.

As she settled back into being part of the Weasley family, Hermione felt a great relief. She'd honestly expected to lose the family after everything that had happened so it meant a great deal to her that not only was she still welcome in their home but that they had welcomed Draco as well.

* * *

**A/N – There's just an epilogue to follow on Thursday, then this story is complete.**

**I'd just to thank everyone for their reviews, as well as follows/favourites. All the wonderful support I receive means the world to me and it inspires me to keep on writing.**


	21. Epilogue

**A/N – Sorry for the delay in posting the epilogue, but unfortunately I've had no access to the internet for a few days. The internet went down on Thursday afternoon in a wide spread problem that affected most of where I live, and it didn't return until a few hours ago. Hopefully people will enjoy the epilogue, despite the delay in getting it to you.**

* * *

**Epilogue.**

**Nine Months Later.**

Harry walked through the dark, dingy corridors of Azkaban, shivering at the cold temperatures inside the prison. As an Auror he was used to walking the corridors of the wizarding prison, but what he wasn't used to was visiting his best friend inside the walls.

Six months ago Ron had been sentenced to life in prison, but this was the first time his friend had agreed to see him. The rest of the family had visited him just after the sentencing, before he was transferred to the prison itself, but since he'd entered Azkaban he had refused to see anyone. Because of Ron's refusal to see anyone, Harry had been slightly taken aback to receive an owl from Ron asking to see him.

Entering one of the visiting rooms, Harry sat down and waited for the guards to bring Ron in. While Dementors still guarded the outside of the prison they weren't allowed inside the prison walls and the duties inside the prison were carried out by wizards who worked as prison guards.

Harry wasn't waiting very long, before Ron was lead into the room by two burly prison guards. After magically securing Ron to the chair opposite Harry the prison guards left the room, making sure Harry knew they were just outside and would be in the room the second he called for them if he required their presence.

"Ron." Harry greeted, studying his friend closely. Ron was underweight, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair was hanging limply in his eyes. All in all he looked to have been in Azkaban for longer than six months, he looked more like someone who had served a few years in the harsh prison.

"Harry." Ron's greeting was said with a tinge of bitterness, and Harry could see the anger burning bright in his eyes.

"I take it there's a reason you sent for me." Harry said. "After all you've been refusing to see anyone for the last six months."

"Why would I want to see people who've betrayed me?" Ron snarled. "I saw you all at the trial, playing nice with Hermione. You should have been supporting me, not her and that bastard she's with."

"It wasn't like that. No-one was against you, we were all just sticking together." Harry argued.

"Sticking together against me." Ron snapped. "You're supposed to be my best friend, and you picked Malfoy over me."

"I didn't." Harry shook his head. "Malfoy had nothing to do with this, this was all about you and the decisions you made. Like it or not Ron, you broke the law and there's no way on earth I could support what you did."

Ron made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat as he reached inside his prison uniform. Harry warily watched in case Ron pulled out a makeshift weapon, but he relaxed as his friend threw a newspaper down on the table. Harry glanced at the date, and seeing it was dated three days earlier, he knew exactly was in that particular edition of the paper.

"Where did you get that?" Harry asked.

He knew prisoners often received copies of the papers, either from their families or from the prison officers, but he also knew that Ron didn't do either. Ron had made it clear early on that he wanted no contact at all with his family, or anyone else, and Harry knew that he didn't engage with any of the other inmates or officers. He pretty much stuck to his cell, not speaking unless spoken to, and he never did anything unless he had to.

"Bloody Zabini." Ron spat. "He sent it in with one of the officers. It had a note attached, claiming he was just spreading the joy."

Harry remained silent, although he had to admit he admired Blaise's sneakiness in getting the paper to Ron. It had been rather sneaky of him to use one of the guards to pass his message along as he knew that Ron wouldn't receive the paper if it had been sent by regular mail.

"Pansy received a copy as well." Ron continued, unconcerned by Harry's silence. "She went berserk, I heard the commotion from my cell."

"I'm still not sure why you sent for me." Harry said. "What do you want me to do? It's not a crime to send someone a newspaper, even if you do know they won't like what they read inside."

"So you know what's in here." Ron said, flipping through the paper to the page he wanted. "Maybe then you could explain yourself." He said, shoving the paper at Harry.

Harry looked down at the article and accompanying picture. The article was about Hermione and Draco's recent wedding, and the picture was a group picture of all the guests. Among the guests were all of the Weasley's and Arthur had even given her away.

"It was my best friend's wedding." Harry answered. "The entire family was there, it was a great day."

"She's my wife." Ron snarled. "Why are my family, standing back and watching her marry Malfoy?"

"Hermione's not your wife, thankfully that sham of a marriage was ended months ago." Harry retorted, losing his cool. "And we were all there, because she's our family. You have no right to sit here and demand an explanation after all that you've done to her. You almost destroyed her Ron, but luckily you didn't and she's able to live the happy life she deserves. It's time you realised that you lost, you're stuck in here for the rest of your life while Hermione is sunning herself in the Caribbean with her new husband."

Shooting Ron one last scathing look, Harry stood up. It seemed that even nine months after everything had happened Ron still couldn't accept what he'd done was wrong. He'd never once apologised for his scheme, the only thing he did seem sorry about was the fact that the sleeping draught wasn't stronger and didn't knock Hermione out for longer which would have resulted in her capture. Even the guilt he'd initially felt when he realised what he'd put his family through faded as he saw them with Hermione at his trial and he ended up branding them all traitors.

"Goodbye Ron." Harry said to his friend in a final tone. He knew that once he walked out of Azkaban he wouldn't be returning again, this would be it and he would never see Ron again.

"Traitor." Ron hissed, before turning away from Harry.

Ron's final word to him echoed in his head as Harry left the visiting room and left Azkaban. It was sad it had to end this way, but Harry vowed to remember Ron as the good friend he had once been, not the bitter man he had become.

* * *

Hermione frowned as a shadow suddenly fell over her, blocking out the sunlight. She was currently lying on a golden beach on a small, private Caribbean island, trying to get a tan. Since the island was private and she and Draco were the only people present she had stripped off her bikini top and was lying topless.

"You're in my light." She complained, cracking open an eye and finding her husband hovering over her.

"I was just wondering if you needed any help applying your suntan lotion." Draco smirked, ogling Hermione's bare breasts. "You look a bit exposed, there."

"There's some in my bag, feel free to help but get out of my light." Hermione said, slapping Draco away. "I've decided I want an all over tan before we go home."

"It's not all over though, is it?" Draco said, sitting down next to Hermione and rooting around in her large beach bag. "You're still wearing your bottoms."

"Feel free to remove them as you're applying the lotion." Hermione retorted, flashing Draco a cheeky grin before settling back down on her towel and shutting her eyes.

A few seconds later Hermione squealed as she felt the cold lotion drizzling onto her chest. Looking down she found that Draco had poured a decent bit over her skin, far more than the small bit that was required.

"Oops, it looks like I got carried away." Draco smirked as he rubbed his hands in glee. "I best get rubbing."

Hermione laughed at Draco's enthusiasm as he began to vigorously massage the lotion into her chest and torso. As he spread the lotion over her exposed body, his strokes got slower and became more teasing in nature. By the time his hands reached her bikini bottoms, Hermione was well and truly turned on and couldn't wait for Draco to get her completely naked. Unfortunately for Hermione her husband was a tease and he proceeded to thoroughly rub lotion into her legs, before toying with the strings that tied her bottoms together.

"I thought you were taking those off." Hermione said impatiently.

"I'm not sure you need an all over tan." Draco said thoughtfully, as he continued to toy with the string of Hermione's bottoms without ever untying them.

"I really do." Hermione said. She was tempted to just remove the bottoms herself, but knew Draco's way would be so much more fun. "And I'd be ever so grateful if you helped me get one."

"How grateful?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"I'll let you have complete control for the rest of the honeymoon. Whatever you want to do, we'll do it. I'm all yours and you can do what you like with me." Hermione replied.

"I like that idea." Draco grinned as he slowly pulled at the strings of Hermione's bikini bottoms. "I hope you have plenty of energy, because I have a lot of plans for you and most of them are extremely active."

"Only most?" Hermione questioned, lifting her backside up slightly as Draco removed her bottoms and flung them over his shoulder. "Why not all?"

"Because as impressive as I am, I do need the occasional rest." Draco chuckled. "But don't worry, I'll still keep you busy enough so that when we go home you'll be thoroughly exhausted."

"At the rate you're going the only thing that will be exhausted is my mouth, from talking too much." Hermione teasingly retorted.

"I'm sure your mouth will be exhausted, but not from talking." Draco smirked as he bent down and engaged Hermione in a long, sensual kiss.

Hermione eagerly returned the kiss as her hands skimmed over Draco's body, pushing his shorts down and ridding him of the only clothing he was wearing. Wrapping her leg around Draco's waist Hermione pushed against him and managed to roll them over so she was on top.

"Oh no, you don't." Draco grinned, flipping them back over and pinning Hermione to her towel. "I'm the one in control, remember?"

Hermione nodded as Draco kissed her again, before he started his descent down her body. As Draco kissed his way down her body, worshipping every inch with his lips and his hands, Hermione let her mind briefly wander back over the last year. Nine months ago they had nearly been torn apart by Ron's lying and scheming but luckily their relationship was strong enough to prevail and now they were happily married. And in a few months' time they would be adding to their family, but that was a secret Hermione was planning on telling Draco later that night, for now she was content to revel in her husband's touch as they lay on the beach with the warm Caribbean sun overhead.

**The End.**


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